Harry Potter: Fourth Child
by Zephros
Summary: Harry Potter has arrived in Tokyo-3 to battle the Angels, with the fate of the world resting on his shoulders.  As the war rages on, he realizes that something is very wrong with the past he recalls, and the one he forgot will soon catch up with him.
1. Prologue: Uncovering a Secret

_ There are two truths that have changed and will change two worlds._

_ One. On July 1, 1948 a team of wizards left for Antarctica from Great Britain. A rising star of much potential, Tom Riddle, accompanied them, thanks in part to the influence of the then Headmaster of Hogwarts. They were going to investigate a magical anomaly that many boasted would change the face of the world. After years of no contact from the team, only Tom Riddle returned the sole survivor. The anomaly was left alone, deemed too dangerous to approach._

_ Two. On October 31, 2001, the night Voldemort fell to a rebounded killing-curse, Second Impact melted the continent of Antarctica and sent the muggle world spiraling into disaster._

**Harry Potter: Fourth Child**

**Prologue: Uncovering a Secret**

The beast had been unleashed. With fervor and glory it had reigned its rage against its alien and inhuman foe, and his son had been the impetus he had known the weak-willed child would be. All the boy had to do was sit in the seat and the beast would do the rest. Once the generals of the JSSDF had seen the futility of man-based weaponry, they had turned the reins over him and his organization. The end had been fated, but the players had to go through their roles.

Currently, he was walking down a bright-lit corridor. In the start of the Angel's attack there had been an anomaly.

It was that distraction that had him walking in this direction. He had initially relegated the study of it to the science wing, but Dr. Akagi had quickly taken over the project with only a few sentences to her reasoning. The lack of substance behind her report was irksome, and the reason behind his visit. He did not entirely trust the repairs to Unit 01 in Maya Ibuki's hands. However, he was smart enough to hear his top scientist out before condemning her.

Featureless hallways gave way to the medical ward, with electronic screens next to doors showing the vitals of the patients within. Gendo ignored them as he passed. They entered a wide viewing room, with the left dominated by a window looking out into the vastness of the geofront. There, garbed in white hospital gown and lost expression, was Shinji Ikari. Gendo paused in his gait as his son turned and met his passive glare.

For a moment the two exchanged nothing but silence, Gendo's steady pace taking him away. Shinji's eyes narrowed briefly before turning away to once more gaze out the window. Gendo gave the incident little notice save a thought. _So unlike me._ In those words were wrapped both condemnation and disappointment.

He eventually reached his destination. Gendo went to stand beside Dr. Akagi, who was bent over a desk reviewing a screen bearing numbers and graphs. He recognized several of the comparisons she was running, some he and his wife had spear-headed; though she was always better at the sciences than he.

He mused that Dr. Akagi must have ordered the desk and monitor to be installed into the hospital room. He glanced briefly to the child laying in the bed across the room, but pulled his attention away.

He stood in quiet silence, knowing what his presence here would do to her. Briefly, he examined her; bottle-blonde hair to contrast against her mother, lipstick artfully done, skirt to the knees with a labcoat thrown haphazardly on. The only thing missing was a burning cigarette from her mouth, but those were not allowed in the hospital wing.

She brought a hand through her hair and sighed. Biting her lip she glanced to him and keyed a quick sequence into the keyboard. A video came to life, depicting the rundown area where the third angel had first penetrated the city. Most of the displays in the area were warning people to evacuate and seek shelter, which most of the residents had done. Save for a single, out of place group of people frantically running down the street.

They looked to a family of foreigners, the patriarch red in the face from yelling. Trailing him was a bone-thin woman with a large teen gripping her hand, looking wildly about in terror. Keeping pace with them was a bedraggled teen, his own face set in hard lines. There was a long thin stick gripped in his hand. They all looked up and froze. Gendo knew what they were seeing and could see the fear wash over them.

The woman screamed and her child fell to his knees, each pointing in horror at something looming over them. The large man tried to cover them and the bedraggled teen raised the stick and spoke, though the audio was not working at the time. A flash of red light shot from the stick, only to collide with a field materializing in the air. It was a clear and hexagonal, but it stopped the light-effect dead, much to the teens shock. Another was launched and it too fizzled against the AT field of the third Angel.

Then the Angel's spindly bone-like appendage came into view, reaching for the teen. The dark-haired child bolted, panic setting his feet in motion. The angel's hand pursued, and another light was launched from the stick. It was at first a pale light that coalesced into a ghost-like deer. Head heavy with antlers it darted for the angel's hand. It struck the AT field and for a moment the hand paused, the deer bowed its head and strained, the field beginning to bulge. All the while the teen ran down the street.

Then the hand closed around the apparition and destroyed it, then taking the same hand it swiped at the teen, sending him sprawling through a shop's window. It took another step forward, but explosions above distracted it, unseen from the angle of the camera. Gendo assumed twin rockets had been delivered by the JSSDF forces at the time. The angel responded and more explosions rent the air. From there the enemy renewed its course for Tokyo-3. The camera showed the family, unperturbed by the angel, rising and looking over to where their fourth member had been injured. They hesitated for only a second before the large man lead them away. The woman waited a moment longer, but the pleas of her child pulled her away.

The monitor returned to the numbers and graphs, their meaning now more clear. Originally, the anomaly had been an errant AT field against the Angel's, shown from the Magi, during the battle. Gendo had recalled how its direct march on Tokyo-3 had been disrupted and it had instead approached along a curve. Odd at the time, but the Angel's penchant for evolving in combat had explained the behavior away. Now this showed something far more puzzling.

"How did you come by this?"

Dr. Akagi blew out a breath. "Three hours ago, and it was by coincidence." Her fingers went to remove a nonexistent cigarette from her mouth. Grasping air she frowned. "Hyuga was going on about an odd video capture Section-2 was editing out from that district as I was working on the repair schedule for Unit 01. At the time Maya was following up on the errant AT field and put the locations together. After what I saw, I took over."

"I see." For a long moment he paused in thought, dwelling upon the strangeness of the video and the comparison of the graphs. Somehow that child had produced an AT field. "And the angel's change in path?"

Dr. Akagi keyed in a few commands and the screen changed to show the trajectory of the Angel. Once out of the ocean it had wondered the beaches for a few hours before suddenly turning towards Tokyo-3. Its path had been a straight line, even when fighting the defense forces. Then suddenly it changed the path to walk into the district. Had it changed its path to search out the child? "It was after the child?"

Dr. Akagi shrugged. "That's what it looks like, but there's no supporting evidence; just our observations."

Together they glanced behind and saw the child from the video laying on the hospital bed with an IV running from his arm. He was bandaged and sedated, but what stood-out was a lightning-bolt shaped scar at the center of his forehead. Gendo frowned.

"You had him transferred?" She nodded. "Keep him under. Have you found the object he was using?" Again she nodded.

"I had Section-2 comb the area and they found it. I've got it locked down and being examined."

"Anything yet?" She shook her head and he frowned. The question before him was; was the object the source of the errant field or was the child? "Keep them separated until we know more." She nodded, but frowned at the next words from his mouth. "And I want you back on schedule with Unit 01 and 00. This is no more a distraction from your real duties, and I don't want you shifting priorities on something that is nothing more than a curiosity."

Her left eye ticked. "We have a possible naturally occurring angel-hybrid and you think it nothing more than a curiosity?"

His face became severe. "Compared to the keys we already possess and the time table now being shorter than we thought? Yes." His response was cold. "If you feel this can yield something viable, set a team on it. I am not dismissing the possibilities, but we both know where your priorities lay."

She took a calming breath. "You can't see the potential? Even against…" She let the thought trail, not wishing to invoke their name.

Gendo's brow furrowed. They possessed Adam while he possessed Lilith. Yet, he controlled the scenario so long as he sat at the head of Nerv.

"I'll look into it." Was all he said before turning to leave. Her voice gave him pause at the doorway.

"Will you be home tonight?" she asked hopeful.

He gave her a final glance, imagining the curves beneath her clothing. He parted from her presence without further word, much to her disappointment.

* * *

Time passed and progress was made.

Harry Potter slowly shook the grogginess from his eyes, only to see the world around him tinted orange. He looked around and found himself encased in a glass cylinder, in which he was floating naked. Shame came to him as he went to cover his privates, but panic followed in its wake when he realized he was submerged. Wildly, he clutched his throat and held his breath.

A voice filled the thick liquid, annoyance prevalent. "You can breathe it. It puts oxygen directly into your lungs." The English was stilted and he caught an odd accent, foreign if he was correct.

He followed their advice and tried a few breaths, much to his relief. Shame returned and he covered his privates, realizing belatedly the voice belonged to a woman. She responded with humor touching her tone.

"I've seen it all before." Despite her reassurance he did remove his hands.

The crisis dealt with, he took the time to peer outside the glass and look to his surroundings. The room was small and sparsely lit. Shadows hung along the walls and the light that did exist came directly from where he floated and from various screens showing incomprehensible numbers and graphs. The lady who had spoken, the only one in the room that he could see at the moment, was bent over a terminal with a microphone not far from her mouth.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them as best you can."

"Uh…okay." He tested his voice, surprised it worked in the odd liquid.

"Your name is Harry James Potter and you're a wizard attending a magical school called Hogwarts?"

Harry's eyes shot open and he looked around stricken. It was obvious from his surroundings she was a muggle. Could reveal to her what he was? What about the Statute of Secrecy? "Uh…" he floundered, trying to buy himself more time.

"Confirmed." Came her amused voice.

"I-I didn't say that."

She turned away from her screen. "No, but your body did." She chuckled and typed a few keys with a speed that surprised the teen.

"You also possess a wand and use it to cast spells?"

Again Harry was stuck on how to respond, now wondering just how much she knew. "I can't answer that!" He called. It was then that his full faculties returned to him, he had not noticed how dulled his senses had been. Anger began to grow in his bosom.

"You've confirmed what I wanted to know, so I finished flushing the sedatives from the tank. Do you notice a difference?"

She had intentionally kept him drugged so he to keep his mind muddled; the thought was less than pleasing. "Let me out of here!" He hollered, forgetting his shame and banging his fists against the thick glass tube. It was useless. He yearned for his wand.

"Fascinating," she said in a low voice, "it's resonating with your emotions."

She pressed a key and a portion of the room was lit, revealing a metal podium in which his holly-and-phoenix-feather wand rested. It sat apparently on air, completeing horizontal, slowly revolving while multi-hued lights played across its surface.

Harry's stomach leaped into his throat. It was so close, but just out of reach.

"A whole world we knew nothing about. Yet, there has to be a connection with Lilith. All humans come from her, but he…" Her voice was vague, as if she were speaking more to herself. Was she referring to him?

"Huh…what's going on?" His eye refused to leave the wand. She ignored him as an instrument was lowered from the ceiling, its point aimed at his wand.

"Hey!" he yelled. A bright light was emitted from the point, but it never struck his wand. Instead, coming to life around it was a hexagonal field, one that shook a memory free within Harry.

The Dursley's had promised Dudley a trip anywhere in the world if he came back with good grades, and after watching the latest kong-fu movie, he had insisted on Japan. While seeing the sights of the city it had come under attack and everyone had fled, save for them who could not read the foreign symbols. Then that monstrosity had attacked and he had been knocked into the building. Was he still in Japan? He squinted at the lady, but could not see her facial features.

"Yes, there is the link. The AT field is linked to the soul the way their own," she chuckled, "magic seems to be."

Her console chirped and a quiet, yet demanding voice broke the odd woman's thoughts. "Dr. Akagi, I've met with the council and they have…altered our resources. Have you tested him yet for viability with Lilith?"

The woman sighed. "Negative on that end."

"Good. We already have a replacement should my son fail."

Harry could hear a frown in the woman's voice. "Rei's results are not equal to your sons." Was the woman mad at this Shinji or Rei?

"Thus why she is a replacement if need be." The man's tone had turned harsh, a reprimand hidden behind his words.

The doctor looked down a moment before responding in a quiet voice. She almost sounded afraid. "There's been odd resonances with his patterns. More akin to Adam." There was a long pause, in which the air grew still. The woman fidgeted.

"This alters the plans. Is it on level with Rei's field?" The doctor sighed with relief.

"No, not even close. But…if there is a match, he could become more than an oddity. Perhaps…" She was cut-off.

"Steps would have to be taken. We don't have the resources for that, given his disposition, but the others of his kind may."

The doctor gasped and whirled around, her eyes going wide when she saw who had been listening to her conversation.

Harry quickly banged on the glass as she pressed a few keys. In a matter of moments his eyes grew heavy and darkness greeted him.

Over the course of some unknown time he would awaken several times and each would leave him taxed and tired, drained from the questions and from his protests; which were always ignored. What stuck out most from those frightening times were the woman's eyes, always seeing him as a specimen and never a boy. He yearned to return to Hogwarts and his friends, yearned to grasp his wand and escape, but those wishes were like fish in a desert; leaving him barren and listless inside.

* * *

She stood in a corner, quiet and unobtrusive, uninterested in the scene that was unfolding before her. The only task she had been given was one of emergence; if the gentleman that had been escorted proved volatile. With ruby eyes she glanced at the scene and frowned. He was becoming irate with the Commander bearing down on him, even though the man in the robes was a bit taller. That was just how the Commander was, all eventually bowed to his whims.

"I didn't sign up for this!" Cried the man, his hands pallid and pale. His back hit the wall and he tried to wave his arms, a useless gesture and one ignored by the man before him.

The Commander stood five-nine with brown hair and a cropped patch of hair hanging from his chin. His blue eyes were hidden behind orange tinted glasses and his hands were hidden behind white gloves; much of the man was hidden, even from those closest to him. Flanking the imposing figure were two stocky men in black suits and ties. Their hands were currently resting on guns tucked inside their jackets. One had a hand to his ear and was speaking in a low voice, describing the unfolding scene to his fellow Section-2 agents outside the building and room.

None of them were taking any chances this far outside Lilith's safety.

To the young girl's right was a hospital bed where lay a teen her age with black hair. He was sedated at the moment and Dr. Akagi was hovering over him, a needled poised to enter his arm. She was only waiting for orders from the Commander. For a moment the doctor glanced to her and frowned, Rei waited for the woman to look away before returning her attention to the distraught stranger.

Currently, the Commander was speaking. "You were sent for this purpose, the boy's age is irrelevant to your task."

"Are you sick?" the man in robes cried, pointing to the boy in the bed. "He's a child! I don't know what'll do to his mind. He's not even fully developed!"

The Commander glanced to the child for a moment and Rei could see him weighing the options in his mind. He turned back to the man. "You have cast this spell on children before?"

"Yes, but nothing as extensive as what you're asking." He tried to sound reasonable. "Changes this drastic could do irreparable harm."

Silence encroached in the room, the Commander still weighing. "Can you guarantee his cognitive functions will remain intact?"

"Well, maybe…"

"Then you are worried about his developing normally, after the spell?"

The man nodded, glad to hear reason from the man. "Yes, I fear he won't be able to mature into a healthy adult."

The Commander turned back to the boy laying helpless , his eyes intent on the scar emblazoned in the center of the teen's forehead. Silence again fell before he spoke, condemning both the teen and the man. "So long as he can function once you're done, his normal development is relevant."

The robed man slowly looked from the Commander to the two men behind him, then to Dr. Akagi and finally to herself. His face was incredulous as all he found within their features was cold indifference to the words their leader had uttered. "You're all crazy," he muttered, while his hands began to shake.

"Harsh times call for harsh measures." Was the Commander's terse reply.

"No. I refuse. I won't do it."

"Then your presence is no longer needed."

With a single motion the man pulled from his robe a long, thin piece of wood. At that motion the two men behind the Commander pulled their weapons. Rei tensed, preparing herself in case the man used his magic.

"I won't let you do this to him. No child deserves it."

The Commander remained calm and undaunted. "Then you have become a liability."

While desperation shown in the man's eyes, a practiced calm overcame his hands. With quick motions, he swished his wand and pointed it at the Commander. Rei was surprised no words were spoken, for she had been briefed they would be necessary. Nerv's knowledge of their capabilities were still somewhat limited. Despite that, she could feel something building within both the man and the wand, coalescing quickly in the tip.

Her eyes narrowed and she focused, calling forth the barrier to protect the Commander.

The man completed the quick motion and a blue light shot from the tip of the wand, only to be stopped by a transparent hexagonal field. The light skittered across the field before dissipating, the magic unrealized.

Contact with the magic gone, the field vanished.

Wide-eyed the man cast two spells in quick succession, both meeting the same fate as the field reappeared. The man darted a glance to Rei, noting her attention on him. He adjusted his aim.

"Fire." Twin gunshots erupted from two barrels, the bullets burying themselves in the wizard's face.

Silence fell like a curtain, the only sound was the rustling of cloth as the two men holstered their guns. Across the Commander the prone body lay limp on the floor, a large red smear decorated the wall behind it. The Commander turned away and wiped splattered blood from his face. "Call for a clean-up." One of the men brought a hand to his ear and spoke in low tones, while the other went to search the body. The Commander turned to Rei. "Good-job."

She gave him a small smile, words unnecessary, unneeded.

Dr. Akagi looked on disgusted. "Brutal as ever," she said, pointedly ignoring the mess.

The Commander tensed; Rei sensed the doctor was referring to something more than just the Commander's orders.

His eyes grew hard before speaking. "I am doing this to satisfy your scientific curiosity." She snorted. "Among other things," he amended.

She sighed and rubbed her temples, the gunshots were excessively loud in the enclosed space. "We're taking too many risks with their magic." Dr. Akagi spoke the word with derision.

"You aren't familiar with it."

"No I'm not. I know the why behind it, just not the how of it. I won't more time to study it before putting…"

His voice cut her off. "Do you require more specimens?"

She waved the offer away. "No, what I have will suffice. Everything is being rushed and there are too many unknowns, unlike with Eva." She sighed. "There's just not enough time."

Gendo stared at her for a long moment. "You don't understand Eva, either."

Puzzlement came over Dr. Akagi's face, but before she could respond, the clean-up crew had arrived. They quickly set to work, bagging the body and collecting the pieces of the dead man's brain. Gendo turned from her, speaking brusquely. "I'll speak with the committee about finding a suitable wizard for our needs."

With that he left, taking with him, like shadows, the two men in black suits and Rei.

* * *

Consciousness came slowly to Harry Potter, the bright light, at first dim to his sleepy mind, seared his eyes as they tried to adjust. The ceiling was unfamiliar, white and vacant. He tried to move his limbs, but found his hands bound with restraints; the same treatment had befallen his feet. He struggled against them, memories of floating in that horrible tube coming to mind. He feared what else the strange lady with the intense eyes would subject him to.

There was one relief for this new scenario, the world was no longer tinted orange.

"He's ready." Came a familiar feminine voice.

Harry looked to it and was able to finally see her face without interference. She had blond hair with the brown roots, a sharp chin and abrupt nose. Like a tear, just below her eye, was a mole. Harry would hazard to say she was pretty, had he not known what sort of mind lurked behind her eyes.

"Proceed." Came a deep voice from a man standing well back, flanked by two men in black suits and shades. Currently, their hands were resting inside their jackets, but their faces were not pointed towards himself. They were angled at the man standing at the base of the bed adorned in familiar and comforting attire. _Robes!_

"You've got to help me!" Harry cried, his struggles renewed against the bindings. He noted the man bring a twisted wand to bear. "They've done weird…" His voice trailed to silence when the harsh reality of the situation bore down upon him. "You're with them," he whispered harshly.

Two emerald green eyes flashed in anger, an emotion hiding the fear in his heart. The fear caused his hands to quiver. The strange man, with blunt features, long black hair, and sinister looking eyes, began to move the wand in an intricate pattern, while the tip began to glow. Harry looked away and found a small girl his age tucked away in corner. She had ruby eyes, pallid skin, and light blue hair. It was the strangest complexion he had ever seen.

The observation was pushed aside when he heard the wizard hovering over him complete the spell with an incantation. It was in a language he could not comprehend. He wondered briefly if the people in the room had been speaking English for his benefit. This observation, too, was brushed aside as the light from the wand fell over him.

A tickling sensation swept through his body, racing towards his mind. Nerves flared to life then deadened as the spell encroaching upon his being. Then he felt it strike his mind, invading with the precision of a sharp pick. His body writhed in agony as he tried in vain to fight off the effects; not even sure what the purpose of the spell was.

Then everything went calm as bliss supplanted pain, lull replaced discomfort. He was actually quite happy all of a sudden, floating in a place in his mind with nothing but the clouds to worry about. Below him he could feel things shifting, but it was a detached sensation. Nothing to worry about at all, but curiosity got the better of him and he peaked, even though the clouds urged him to just relax. What he saw brought back the panic and now rage at the violation.

There, spread out like a never-ending quilt, were his memories of Hogwarts and his friends. Thousands of moments, like moving pictures, captured forever and stored within his mind. And there, like a poison of white light, was the spell slowly slithering among them and severing them. Harry witnessed segments of good times and bad cut away from his consciousness, falling away to a black abyss leaving nothing but emptiness where there should be emotion.

Rage consumed him and he plummeted downward, shrugging off the clouds as they sought to contain him. He fell upon the white poison and struggled with it, flinging off its corrosive light trying to hold onto that which was precious. For long eternities they struggled, memories stirred and memories forgotten. Patches and holes appeared throughout the fabric as he fought, hot rage and cold fear driving him ever onward. He could not let this thing take away the only bright spot in his entire life, but it was hard and he was growing tired.

Soon his struggles died and he lay there among the best times of his life, while a foreign invader surgically cut-away what was him, and supplanted other memories that rang hollow and wrong to the teen. But they were now there, a new fabric to replace the old; a part of him, though he felt the wrongness of it to his very bones.

He cried out in frustration and did the only thing he could; hold onto what memories he could, shoving them beneath the new fabric, hoping and praying the poison would not get them. Hermione, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, her husband… He screamed into the void when he realized he could no longer recall his best friend's father. He grabbed more moments, some random, some recalled, and all desperately wanted. Ginny, the basilisk, Quidditch, his firebolt, Sirius, Dumbledore…

Then the fabric of his old life was no longer; all that remained was a new one. And Harry sat among the memories, knowing them for his own and wondering why he was crying and angry. He recalled the long years under his aunt and uncle's imperious stares. Their frequent name calling: freak, wretch, ingrate. How he wished his mother and father had not died in a car accident leaving him with them.

He remembered the boarding school they sent him to when he was eleven, how out-of-place he felt and how he made no friends. All he knew there were frowns upon stranger's faces. Then came the strange Japanese man with his tests. How Harry had worked the computer with ease, answering the questions as best he could. Doctors had come and taken blood and run weird lights over him. The experiments made him uncomfortable, but he bore it in silence, as he did most things in his life.

Then the phone call and the moment of pure elation. He was being shipped half-way around the world to work in a Japanese-funded program linked to helping mankind fight the strange beings known as Angels. The Japanese man said he could help in the war and save mankind. It was a noble cause, one Harry believed in completely, but what truly set his spirits high was leaving his relatives place forever.

_I'm dreaming._ He quickly realized, looking about the place strangely. The last he remembered before falling asleep was boarding a plane with his luggage. _I must have dozed; it is a long flight…_

The final thought fell away as he truly did fall asleep, lulled there by drugs placed into his system. Letting him escape the place where Harry Potter, Boy-who-lived, ceased to be; replaced by Harry Potter, Fourth Child.

* * *

**a/n::** Hopefully, this will be a successful attempt to meld two very different worlds. I've actually tried looking for a decent HP:NGE x-over, but no luck. So like most, I wrote one. Inspiration was not mine alone I dare say, I grabbed the idea from a random forum thread. From there the idea peculated in my head for a time, and let me tell you, merging these two worlds was some of the hardest imagining I have ever done. Hope people enjoy the results of that labor.

-byl, out.


	2. Chapter 1: SettlingIn

**Harry Potter: Fourth Child**

**Chapter 1: Settling-In**

He didn't own much. A few boxes shipped by mail plus what was in the bag slung over his shoulder. Standing on the platform, trying his best to understand the foreign characters flashing across electronic screens, was Harry Potter, designated Fourth Child. He was dressed in brown slacks and white shirt with the jacket hung over his duffel bag; his tie was similarly strewn with it. In contrast with the school uniform he wore was the white pair of trainers adorning his feet. His one act of rebellion against the hegemony of his former boarding school.

In a sea of Asians, he stuck-out, but it was not for his height, being only fifteen put him equal with many. He stood out by the fact he was standing around, while all around him were swarming and teeming masses of a focused populace. They each had a place to go and knew how to get there; a perfect reflection of the residents of Tokyo-3. Harry was almost in awe at the urgency in which they moved, more accustomed to a slower pace in downtown London.

He searched the grounds, his free hand going to his bedraggled black hair; he withheld a sigh. "They said to meet them just off the platform." The Nerv agents in England had rushed him to the plane, saying he was urgently needed; the least they could to do was be on time.

He walked over to a pillar, speaking his apologies in Japanese; he hoped he was pronouncing it right. He had coincidently taken it as a second language at his old school, becoming fluent in it, but his was the taught language, and he knew it differed from the practiced tongue used by the local populace. The memories of learning it were fuzzy, and trying to recall in depth was giving him a headache. It did not matter so long as he could speak it in passing.

Harry leaned against the pillar, placing his bag down and opening the top button of his shirt. No one had warned him about the heat here; they had mentioned how the pacific was locked in an odd oscillation of summer and spring, where as England was more Fall and Winter, leaning more towards fall. His geography teacher had explained to him something about the jet-streams now following an erratic path in both hemispheres, in part due to the unnatural warm air coming up from the Antarctic.

His green eyes wondered across the moving mass of people and caught an anomaly. It was a young girl with light-blue hair and pale skin, slowly weaving her way through the rushing crowds. What was unnerving was her gaze never left him. The unblinking red eyes, he noticed as she drew near, were making him uncomfortable. _Is she here to meet me?_

She walked up to him, her gaze slightly lower than his own. "You are Harry Potter?" The girl spoke in low, inflectionless tones. Harry swallowed before responding.

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter."

She nodded and turned about. "The Captain is this way." She began walking, carefully making her way through the throngs. Harry hastened to catch up with her, more confused than happy to finally meet someone.

"Hey? Oof…sorry!" He came abreast of her. "Captain?" Rei nodded, still looking ahead. She shifted to the left, and Harry had to dodge a large man to get back to her side.

"Captain Katsuragi." Rei intoned.

"She represents Nerv?" Rei nodded. "Why were you two late?"

"We were not." Harry waited for more, but it seemed the strange girl was not very sociable. "Then why did it take you so long to come for me?"

She glanced to him, but he waited, his stare bordering on a glare.

"The Captain became lost."

Harry stopped a moment, shocked, the slight girl began to disappear among the crowd and he hurried back to her side.

"She became lost?" Rei nodded again.

From there they walked in silence, Harry not bothering to force another conversation with her. Eventually, they managed to get themselves free of the platform, walking down the station to enter yet another busy one. He looked up and noted this was platform nine. Goosebumps raced across his back, and a bone-chilling longing filled his stomach. It took him a moment to collect himself. Surprisingly, the young girl had stopped and waited for him. Under that ruby gaze Harry felt the need to explain himself.

"I got the chills." He shook himself. Prying his mind from the odd sensation, he theorized there were so many platforms here because the majority of the people living outside the city dwelled in this district.

For a moment Rei frowned, causing Harry to sigh. _What'd I do wrong now?_ The expression fled her face as she spoke. "This is the Saikyo Line that runs the outer edge of the city."

_Okay, now she's forthcoming with information? _"Is this where most of the people live?" Harry asked seeking an answer to his theory.

"I don't know." She frowned and looked to the ground, her eyes betraying thought. "Many people live in apartments in the city." The statement seemed hollow coming from her.

"Oh, okay."

Without further talk, she turned and led him once more into the crowds.

They made progress and the girl stopped once or twice, peering around. Then, like a dog to a scent, she marched forward. Their destination was obvious; a woman dressed in black shirt and long pants with a red coat thrown open. She had dark hair and hazel eyes, and she was currently shouting over the hustle and bustle of the masses. "Harry Potter!" She looked around irritated. "Can you hear me, Harry!" Several people edged away from her, giving her scandalous looks.

Harry smiled when he realized the situation. Not until the slim girl was upon her did the woman react. "Rei, where have you been?" Rei looked back and the Captain's mouth fell open as Harry approached; she quickly recovered.

"Just where the hell have you been?" She demanded, hands on hips. "I've been calling your name forever! And what the hell is so funny?"

Harry spoke through his laughter; he pointed towards the platform's entrance. "On platform 8, waiting for you."

The Captain grew puzzled. "No…this is platform…" Harry only shook his head. The woman glanced about, looking for confirmation, seeing it she deflated. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry." She fiddled with the collar of her jacket. "I even left early so I could be on time." She turned to Rei. "You went to fetch him?"

"I did."

The Captain brought a hand to her head.

"You know, instead of leaving me here looking like a fool, you could have told me we were in the wrong platform."

"It was more efficient for me to retrieve him."

The woman glared at the diminutive girl, her mouth working, striving for a suitable response. Harry, amused but growing bored, interrupted her. "I'm Harry Potter by the way. That's Rei, I think, and you're Captain Katsuragi?"

"None of that Captain stuff. Just Misato. And, yes, this is Rei." Misato turned to the girl. "Didn't you introduce yourself?"

Rei glanced to Harry then back to Misato. "No." She turned back to Harry and spoke. "I am Rei Ayanami." Misato looked heavenward.

"You've got to work on your social skills, Rei." The girl responded by frowning, but the expression was fleeting. "Now let's get out of this circus." Misato led the charge, while he and Rei fell in behind. "Make way, coming through! Nerv personnel!"

From what Harry could tell, Misato seemed to be an exception to the rule among the populace. Most seemed enclosed around themselves, going out of their way not to attract attention, while Misato was like an elephant among a herd of zebra, trumpeting and stomping about.

In time, she escorted them to her car, a blue Renault of some model. Harry was not too familiar with cars, but Misato seemed to love it. Rei climbed into the back while Harry made his way to the front. On the road, Misato was flying. Rei looked out the window unconcerned, while Harry rolled down the windows and enjoyed the wind playing across his face. It was a pleasant sensation. Over the roaring wind, Misato asked, "You like it?"

Harry gave her an eager grin. With a wicked smile in response, the car lurched forward, suddenly accelerating. Harry felt gravity push him back against the seat. A grin bloomed on his face as Misato took the turns at dangerous speeds. She gave a loud cry as the scenario sped-by. Harry looked to her and thought he could not have said it better himself!

Suddenly conscious, he looked back to see Rei looking back and forth between the two of them, a look of puzzlement on her face.

"You okay?" He called. She nodded and he smiled, going back to enjoy the car speeding along the roads.

After one pull-over(a cop had tried to give her a ticket, but her Nerv card made him nervous enough not to press the issue, and he left giving her a warning) they arrived at a low parking garage. With a quick maneuver they were parked and exiting the car. All of their hair was mussed, Harry's more so than normal.

"I think I like you, kid." Misato came and rubbed his hair, then directed him to follow her. "Oh, and welcome to Nerv HQ." She called over her shoulder.

Before entering the elevator that would take them below, two security men were waiting to search and place Harry into the database. He was given gamma level access and his iris and DNA was entered. They palmed him an id, in case he was questioned while below. Misato assured him people would eventually know him on sight. The statement left Harry feeling uneasy; no one had yet described to him what his role in the organization would be. Apparently, it was important, but he had to wonder what skills a fifteen year old could bring an apparently advanced organization.

The geofront took his breath away, after Rei belatedly supplied the name for it. Misato was pacing as they descended into the bowels of Nerv via tram. When asked if she were okay, she only smiled and waved it away with a comment. "Just can't wait for your reaction."

_Reaction to what?_

Then she bid him and Rei into darkness, but by the way his voice carried it was a vast chamber. "What's with the lights?" Harry asked into the shadows. His answer came when they came to life, blinding him momentarily. He was on a metal catwalk, the intricate grill beneath his trainers. Under that was a strange looking liquid. He glanced around and then he beheld the behemoth staring back at him with four oculars. It was broad of chest with two pauldrons jutting from its shoulders. It was red in color and the numbers 02 were painted on it. For him it looked like the upper torso and head of a giant robot, the rest hidden beneath the liquid. The size of the chamber tripled in his estimates.

He blinked twice, then uttered, "Wow."

Misato came to stand by him, a smile on her face.

"Glad you like it, the last person I introduced Eva to almost had a meltdown." She shrugged, uncomfortable. "Then again, it was a tense situation and he was still dealing with issues…Anyway, what do you think of her?"

Harry really had no words. "Is this what you guys use against the Angels?"

"Yep!" Misato went to a control booth and pulled a lever, making the catwalk jerk and rise. She stopped it level with the Evangelion's ocular lens. "This is the bio-weapon Evangelion, specifically the first of the production models; Unit 02."

Harry was beginning to understand that his stance in the company was linked somehow to the robot before him.

"You know," Misato said, easing back to lean on the railing. "This is going so much smoother than Shinji. God, I'm glad you agreed to pilot beforehand, this could have been really awkward."

Harry's heart froze. Words came and left his mind, nothing near coherent. "I'm going to what?" He cried, rounding on her.

Shock entered her face.

"Pilot." Her voice carried a touch of dread. Harry pointed to the red beast. Misato nodded, her eyes wary.

"No!" He cried. "I didn't sign up for this."

Misato groaned. "Don't tell me they didn't brief you before flying you all the way out here?"

Harry shook his head emphatically. "No, they just ran some tests and told me I'd be helping mankind."

"And how would a fifteen year old help us?" She asked testily.

"That's what I wanted to know." He looked back to the Eva, silent and damning. He shuddered to think of climbing into it and battling Angels. "No. No way. Don't you have soldiers to pilot it?"

Misato shook her head. "Due to design, only those born around the turn of the millennium can pilot." Harry slowly turned to gaze upon Rei, who had been watching in silence.

"You're a pilot, aren't you?"

She nodded.

Harry looked to the floor, a thousand possibilities racing through his mind. He would have to go back to his relatives and the boarding school if he turned Nerv down. Go back to his unhappy existence of strange faces and upside down smiles. Yet, to climb into something like that…yet the slip of girl before him can run it, why not him?

Misato brought a hand to her head and spoke, annoyed. "Listen, you don't have to answer now. I'll let you observe for a time, see how they handle it, okay?"

Harry waited a long time before answering, his emerald eyes never leaving the statuesque being before him.

"Yeah, that sounds okay." He blew out a breath, suddenly feeling like a fish out-of-water. Misato mirrored his action and went to join him.

"I won't lie and say it'll be easy or simple, war never is, but it's worth it to save mankind."

For a moment hard determination filtered into Harry's mind. He had faced danger before and he could face it again, though his subconscious wondered what dangers the conscious thought it had faced. Misato put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll get the othe—"

A loud voice filled the space. "Attention all personnel, an unknown object has been sighted, report to your stations. I repeat, an unknown object has been sighted, all personnel to your stations."

"What's that mean?" Harry looked to Misato.

"An Angel."

-scene break—

On the display before him was a dozen different viewpoints of a battle beginning to unfold. Hours ago an unidentified object had been detected off the coast, shortly the boat following it had been destroyed. Planes had since tracked the underwater object, eventually verifying it as an Angel, while it gained the shores of Japan. From where he sat he could see two massive airplanes carrying the giant Evangelions, Unit's 01 and 02. Support craft and ground-crew were working feverishly to evacuate any people, though the region was supposed to be mostly depopulated.

He could see two portable generators with long cords stretched out, ready for the Evangelions to use. He heard faintly over the comm. chatter Misato's voice giving succinct orders. She and others from the geofront had set-up a base of operation close to where the Angel had made landfall. The elder man beside him touched a few keys and two children's voice also joined the chorus. They sounded calm in the face of such an alien situation.

"This is _boring._" Came a girl's voice. "I can't even load up _any_ of the lower functions.

A sigh from a boy.

"That's because you only have a minute's worth of battery power." There was a slight taunting quality to his voice. "You know, because your Eva is _so_ streamlined."

The girl responded with some grumbling. "Just you wait, _Third_ Child, I'll show you what I can do."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Whatever."

A deep sigh escaped the elder man sitting next to Harry. He turned to once more glance at sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. He was taller than most of his countrymen with gray hair dominating his scalp. He seemed a dour sort of man who seemed weighed down by his past. Harry felt somewhat uncomfortable in his presence, considering this was the second-in-command of Nerv. Yet, beneath that was an anger bubbling. Only minutes ago he had dismissed Harry's concerns about not being briefed. It wasn't exactly right to trick him into getting here before letting him know he was supposed to pilot these huge robots.

He thought about the two pilots being calm in the face of a battle, wondering how they did it. Harry assumed the older man had keyed into the pilot's comm. so he could get a glimpse of what they were like. He was just trying to sell him the idea of jumping into one of their robots. Yet, it would get him away from his relatives. Harry looked to the screen, then looked to the girl sitting next to him. A completely passive expression dominated her pale features. He was glad not all the pilots acted like Rei, he thought that would be incentive enough for him to head back to England.

"Deploy Eva!" Misato's voice crowed over the comm. He saw the two jets unload their cargo and watched speechless as the two robots made the drop without a problem.

"Watching Eva in action can be surprising." There was a note of amusement in Fuyutsuki's voice. Harry realized then his mouth was hanging open; he promptly closed it and gave the sub-Commander a glare. He smiled indulgently at it.

"We're not bad men, Harry. We're just a group of individuals with the fate of the world in our hands. We can't always play by the rules with billions depending on us."

Harry took that in, not liking what that entailed at all. Instead of dwelling on it, he asked, "How will the Angel kill everyone?" He just did not see how it could pose a threat, no matter its size.

Fuyutsuki's voice changed to one used to lecturing. "The Angels have something called an AT field, which makes conventional weaponry useless against them. Thus, the Eva's were developed because they have been designed to counter that measure. As to the threat they pose everyone? You recall Second Impact?"

Harry nodded. The tragedy of that event was branded on everyone's minds.

"Good. If that Angel were to get passed our defenses here in the geofront, it would cause Third Impact, wiping out the other half of humanity.

That thought was extremely sobering for the youth. He forgave the organization slightly for their shady dealings with him, but tricking him out here, for he would never have agreed to pilot if he had been asked in England, still rankled. You just didn't treat people like that.

Harry returned his attention to the battle and could make out the two pilots talking, the girl in the red Eva was now rushing forward, belaying both her commander's and comrade's instructions. She flung her Eva forward, wielding a metallic spear longer than most skyscrapers. With deft movements she cut the Angel in two. Then she boasted.

Harry saw Fuyutsuki clench his jaw, his eves disapproving before they went wide. Harry looked back to the monitor and his jaw dropped again. The Angel had proceeded to become two beings and were bearing down on the shocked pilots.

What followed was pathetic fight in which the two Eva's were getting plowed by the Angels. Each time one seemed to get the upper hand, the Angel's twin would run in and knock it off balance, the two aliens were extremely successful in keeping the Evas divided and distracted. Harry was no expert, but by the chatter coming from the teen's it seemed they were too busy yelling at one another to try and work together.

Looking once more to the sub-Commander, Harry realized he was watching a disaster unfold.

He saw Unit 01 hurled against his partner, sending them both sprawling into the land, digging great furloughs into the Earth. The Angels pounced and Fuyutsuki pounded his fist on the desk. Growling, he scooped up the phone, within seconds he was speaking to Misato.

"Get those children focused. They're supposed to fight the Angel, not each other!" He slammed the phone down.

Gauging by Rei's sudden interest in the sub-Commander, uptil then she then her gaze had been locked on the screen, he rarely lost his composure.

Misato's voice became severe as she tried to dress-down her pilots, with little success; both were too far involved with a losing a battle against each other and the Angels. Harry saw the red Eva stumble and fall over several buildings, destroying most. The Angels turned as one against Unit 01 and with their combined strength, hurled him over a hill and into the water, where he landed face down. As the waves settled, he was stuck with only his legs showing, jutting into the air.

The Angels then turned their attention to the recovering Unit 02. Before engaging it, Harry heard a whisper from the pilot. "Mein Gott…" They plucked her up, one holding her while the other fended off her appendages, and they planted the Evangelion into the ground, much as they had Unit 01. There the pilot's frantic cursing filled the room.

With a flinty expression, the sub-Commander picked-up the phone and spoke in low tones. His eyes never left the screen, showing him what had become of the world's greatest weapons against the Angels. With a heavy sigh, he replaced the phone and waited.

Time passed and the screen showed the Angels walking forward, engaging several ground crew and groups of aircraft. After a time the men assaulting the Angels pulled back, leaving it unhampered. Suddenly, the screen was lit by a brilliant light, which passed in a matter of seconds, showing the Angels worn but still walking.

"Ten percent mass burn-off…"

Another flash of light followed by another. The Angels had stopped walking, instead standing silent and unobtrusive. Their outer skin looked mottled and torn, the only damage from the numerous N-2 strikes.

"thirty-eight percent mass burn-off…"

Another light filled the screen, and as the light cleared, there was no obvious further damage.

"Scanning…no effect. Targets have adapted."

The phone rang and Fuyutsuki answered. He listened for a moment, nodding absently. "Pull back and form a perimeter, no one goes in. Estimate if it has regenerative properties, I wouldn't doubt it, and find out how long till it resumes its attack." He paused, his voice growing hard. "And Captain, I would like to see the pilots for a briefing, but before that, I would like a private word with you." He replaced the phone and leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing his left temple.

Without his gaze leaving the ceiling, he addressed Harry. "You know why I had you watch, right?"

Harry glanced to the screen. "You wanted me to see how your operations go?"

"Yes, I wanted you to see how the other pilots handle the situation." He sounded disgusted.

"It didn't go so well." Harry remarked, at a loss of what else to say. How did you respond to a situation like this?

The sub-Commander chuckled. "That is an understatement." He looked to Harry. "What did you think of the pilots?"

"They're just kids."

"Like you."

"Like me." Harry finished, his mouth set in a line.

The silence stretched before for a time as they watched the Eva's being excavated.

"I'll not lie to you, this isn't an easy job. You obviously have reservations about how we do things, understandable since I share some of them. But we don't have time to worry about man's prickly pride or his need to be vindicated." He paused, allowing the words to sink-in before resuming.

"You can ask any pilot and they will admit the job is not easy. Some have been hurt, both physically and mentally. Shinji almost died in his first battle, and Rei suffered grievous harm when Unit 00 was first activated. Its armor is still being repaired from an encounter with the Fifth Angel." He paused. "So now you know what being a pilot means. What it could cost you. The question I ask, is will you pilot Eva?"

Harry returned the old man's stare, part determined and part sympathetic. He broke eye contact and let his gaze rest upon the floor, his thoughts dwelling upon his future.

Up until now his existence had been one of little consequence, no more than a name on a sheet to his teachers, only a blank face to his classmates, and an embarrassment to his relatives. No famous name, no ambition to become known had kindled in him. He remembered only wishing to let the day go by with little attention being drawn to himself, even if that attitude was to his own detriment.

But now he had an opportunity to do something amazing. He could control the power of one of those beasts. He could be known for something important, and not be just a boy clinging to the shadows, his existence marred by the grays he wanted people to see.

Then his little fantasy was popped by a single thought; a thought that both chilled and sobered him. Was he willing to die for this cause?

The boy that dwelled in his memories, the one that sought anonymity, quailed at such a thing, wishing rather to live in fear than die in courage. He expected such a response now, but instead of fear, he felt determination. He knew he could handle the stress, knew somehow that this was something worthwhile, and something deep down knew that helping others felt right.

The answer to both his own question and the sub-Commander's easily left his lips. "Yes."

-scene break—

For the rest of the afternoon, as the two other pilots, Asuka and Shinji(the names had been provided by Rei) were being debriefed and their Evangelions retrieved, Rei gave Harry a tour of the Nerv facilities. From the Ops bridge, which all the information Nerv held was funneled through and where the defense of the city took place, to the cages, which housed the Evangelions. Adjacent to them were the pilot's changing rooms, accommodating easily a dozen pilots, though there were only four. Rei explained to him about the plugsuits, skin-tight clothing that would help him sync with his Evangelion.

As Rei explained the various details of the clothing, Harry interrupted her speech by asking a poignant question. "Can I see my Evangelion? I mean, you mention we each have one, but you haven't shown me mine."

Rei stopped in her gait, her head bowed, almost looking deep in thought, but with her lack of facial expression, Harry was not sure. She resumed her pace and spoke. "That information is classified."

"Don't I have gamma level access?"

"That information is classified to those of your clearance level." She sounded like a robot.

Frustrated, Harry wondered how she knew.

"What's your level clearance?"

She turned to him and spoke. "Alpha."

They continued to walk in awkward silence, but a frowned appeared on Rei's face and soon she was again explaining the various areas of Nerv, though to Harry it seemed her voice was becoming softer, causing him to lean forward and hear.

Eventually, their tour lead them to the lab where a window looked out into a chamber of red liquid, the LCL as Rei had described it; something the pilots would be submerged in when syncing with their Eva's. It was here their syncs would be tested on a weekly basis. They were going to turn when Harry noticed a figure rising in the corner.

"Lights." The room was illuminated instantly to reveal a woman with blonde hair, brown roots showing, red lipstick and cold eyes framed by glasses. She was dressed in a dark skirt, with hose and heels, along with a white lab-coat.

"Well now, this is a surprise." Her eyes flicked from one to the other, a gaze that had Harry feeling very uncomfortable. He had never met the woman, but something in that gaze unsettled him; it spoke to him of perverse examinations and painful experiments. Pushing back the feelings, he settled upon instantly disliking the woman. "You're the new pilot, I assume?" She asked.

Harry gave her a curt reply. "Yes."

In response to his succinct answer, she tilted her head to the side for a long moment, trying to pierce his mind with her gaze.

"I see." She turned to Rei. "I'll need you in my lab tomorrow at nine hundred hours, there were a few anomalies in your last examination I want to check-on."

"Yes, doctor." Rei nodded, paused, then turned to leave. Harry went to follow, but the doctor's voice stopped him. "Stay a second, Harry, I need to discuss a few things with you."

Rei paused as Harry stopped and turned back. He really did not want to be alone in the same room with this woman, but he steeled himself.

"Rei, thanks for showing me around the place." He felt nice to have someone ease him into his new role, and despite her frigid exterior, it was extremely nice thing for her to do. He figured she did not often go out of her way to help people she—

"I was only following orders." Without pausing, Rei left without a sound, a ghost done with its nightly haunting.

Harry stood flummoxed, jaw agape. All those pauses and frowns she made were her only remembering to follow orders. It both stung and hurt; leaving him bitter towards the blue-haired girl. A light chuckle brought Harry from his reverie.

"You'll have to forgive Rei, she's not used to be sociable. I think it must have been hard on her to even do the task." Regardless of her words, Harry heard no sympathy for Rei in the woman's tone.

The click of heels rang in the empty room as she approached him. She proffered a hand as a smile warmed her face.

"I'm Doctor Ritsuko Akagi." He thought the smile looked out of place in her face, causing Harry to wonder how such a human expression could exist on such a cold person. He tried to push such paranoid thoughts aside, realizing there was no rational reason behind them, but the feelings persisted nonetheless. After more than a moment's hesitation he shook her hand.

"Harry Potter."

"Pleased to meet you. I bet you're wondering what I was doing in here?" He was not really, but assumed she was trying to make conversation.

"What were you doing?"

She smiled.

"Come here and I'll show you. It'll be a good way to get you ready for your Evangelion."

"Uh—when will I get one?"

"Rei didn't tell you?"

"No, she said it was classified." Dr. Akagi looked heavenward.

"She was just being cautious. You're Eva's not ready yet." Harry looked shocked.

"Then why am I here if what I'm supposed to pilot is not?" The doctor frowned at his exasperated tone. "Sorry," he amended. She waved that away.

"I can understand your frustration, this whole thing is new and you feel like we duped you into piloting."

"Yeah."

"Just be glad Commander Ikari wasn't here. He would not have been as gentle as the sub-Commander; he wouldn't have given you a choice." She laughed as if making a joke, but the punch-line was lost on Harry. "Normally, it'd take around five more months before your Eva was completed, but due to certain…" she trailed, searching for the right word, "advancements," she smiled at the word, betraying a deeper meaning to it that Harry could fathom, "in our production lines, we've been able to speed up the process."

"Advancements?" Pressed Harry, curious. Dr. Akagi smiled.

"It's ironic you would ask that. The process is highly classified, but we've brokered a few deals and set-up more efficient production line for outfitting both the Eva's and Nerv. It's cut repair and production costs by billions. Thanks mainly to that, we should be getting your Eva within a month or so. The only delay is the biological aspect of the Evangelion."

"Biological? I thought they were robots?" Dr. Akagi looked stricken.

"No. Let me show you what I was going over and it'll make things clearer."

She brought him over to a pair of screens, one depicting a human girl's body in silhouette with various colors ranging across it; off to either side were graphs and dozens of numbers scrolling by. Opposite on the other screen was the empty silhouette of what Harry assumed was an Evangelion, similar charts and numbers next to it. Dr. Akagi explained that as a pilot was submerged into an entry plug, flooded with LCL, they attempted to synchronize with Eva. She explained how the Evangelion was a synthoid without a mind, just a body capable of forming an AT field.

The purpose of the pilot was to sync with the body and become its mind, directing the power of the Evangelion against the Angels. A pilot's sync ratio was determined by how much their mind became immersed in the Evangelion. The process at that point made Harry extremely wary, but Dr. Akagi waved away his concerns, saying there was little for him to worry about. His own ego would prevent him from being absorbed by the Eva. The trick was to find a safe region for which the Evangelion would respond fast enough to his commands, but he not lose himself to it.

He was still unconvinced.

"Look at it this way, Harry. You ever tried to dig your hands into a sand box as a kid?"

"Sometimes." He admitted.

"It's like that. Syncing with Eva is not like dipping into a pool, but more like dipping into a pile of sand. It's not easy and will take time, so don't go worrying about it, okay?"

This finally allayed any fears he had.

The conversation shifted to her explaining what she had been examining, which was Asuka's sync records when faced against the Angel, and how it had dipped various times in the battle. According to the doctor, that was unusual for the pilot, given her extensive training. It hinted at underlying tensions with who she was working with; the third child. Something she would convey to Captain Katsuragi. She then mentioned Asuka's last examination, explaining to Harry how she used that data to help determine where the problem lay. It prompted Harry to ask, "Do you need to perform one on me?" He regretted the words instantly, fearing what those eyes would do to him. She waved away his concern.

"I already have your data." She saw his confusion. "They recorded everything I needed when you were Britain," she hastily amended. Looking about Dr. Akagi swiftly changed the subject. "So tell me what books you've read? Any Tolkien? Any interest in the Arthurian Legend, perhaps?"

Harry recalled his days at the boarding school, where his interests had lay more with studying than anything recreational, though he had enjoyed long walks in a forboding forest. He remembered there being one close to the school that was off limits…but wasn't his school located in a suburban area close to London? His memories grew fuzzy and instead of contemplating his confusion, he concentrated on answering Dr. Akagi.

Harry shook his head.

"Shame that." She paused and pressed a key. "Ever thought about being a wizard when you were younger?" It was an odd transition in conversation, but Harry assumed she was just filling the silence.

"Sometimes," he admitted, easily remembering being locked in the cupboard and wishing for magical powers so he could escape and find a princess.

She chuckled. "All kids have, though I hope you've grown out of such fantasies." She gave him an intense stare, belying her casual tone.

"I have." He said at length, trying to discern if she were serious or just teasing him. "Magic isn't real." He added, hoping it would mollify her so she would change the subject; her stare was getting irritating. She chuckled again, and typed a few keys into the terminal before shutting it off and standing.

"Well, I have a friend to go see and I assume you are probably hungry. Did Rei show you where the cafeteria is at?" Harry nodded. "Good. Pilots eat free, just show them your badge. I'll be seeing you later."

Together they exited the room, their paths divulging a ways down the hall.

Scene break

Lunch was a filling affair for the teen, though the food was not quite what he was used to. A lot of rice and a lot of sauces. Not sure of what to try, he had asked for any suggestions. The women had been more than happy to oblige, even if one of them had chosen nothing but spicy dishes. He was unsuccessful in finding a fork, so he just drank the bowls. After bringing his dirty dishes to the window, where a young man in black slacks and white apron took them, Harry wondered by to his table, unsure where to go from here. He could explore some of the geofront or Nerv, but he had a feeling things would be tense for everyone; the Angel was still alive and people were scrambling to get the Evas back in the cages.

And in all the ruckus, he imagined his living arrangements had been forgotten. He could inquire to Misato, but she would probably have her hands full right now. The same with Dr. Akagi, considering how she had dismissed him earlier. He glanced to his jacket and duffel bag, wondering if he could perhaps use them for the night, till things had died down and he could ask where he would be staying.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself, disgusted how he was taking this. They had flown him half-way around the world to pilot their Evangelion, tricking him as well. The _least_ they could do was make some time for him.

He stood resolute, a determined expression on his face, when the comm. echoed in the mostly deserted cafeteria.

"Kaji Ryoji report to sub-Commander Fuyutsuki's office." The phrase repeated itself, followed by, "Harry Potter report to sub-Commander Fuyutsuki's office." This phrase was as well repeated.

How convenient.

It took Harry a moment to get his bearings, but in time he remembered how to get back to the sub-Commander's office, having watched the battle with the Angel there. What greeted him upon his arrival was seeing the sub-Commander sitting patiently behind the wooden furniture. Leaning against the same desk was a man possessed of a cavalier attitude. Stubble adorned his chin, and his brown hair was tied loosely into a tail. He wore a white-shirt with tie, but it was hanging loose a few buttons were unfastened on his shirt. Wrinkles marred his pants and clashing with the business ensemble were brown hiking boots.

Harry took a liking to him after noting that, having done a similar small rebellion back at his boarding school; though, he preferred trainers. Giving the man with the easy smile another once over, he concluded it must have been the Kaji the comm. had called.

"Come in, Harry. Kaji, this is Harry Potter, Fourth Child and pilot of Evangelion Unit 03; when it arrives of course."

"Please to meet you, Harry." The man walked forward and clasped Harry's hand, giving it a firm shake. "Please, don't take the recent battle as an example of what the pilots are capable of, their track record is really quite amazing so far." The sub-Commander frowned.

"Yes, well, that maybe true, but I hope your plan works. I'd rather see Rei and Shinji together, given their track record, but with Unit 00 still out, that's not an option."

"You don't have enough faith in Misato." Kaji turned his smile back to the elder.

"I've plenty of faith in the Captain, it's our pilots who worry me." Kaji chuckled and went to leave, speaking a departing word.

"I'll keep what you said in mind, and do let the Commander know I wish to speak with him about his new annual budget. As liaison, it's my duty to see he's spending the committee's money wisely, especially with new the techniques in manufacturing opening up billions."

Now it was older man's time to smile.

"I'll be sure to do that, but I'm not quite done briefing you on your assignments."

Kaji halted, his grin faltering. He eyed Harry up and down before walking back to the desk.

"I'm all ears Fuyutsuki." Though, his tone was mild, there was something calculating lurking in his eyes.

"Harry, I assume you are wondering where you will be staying?" Fuyutsuki addressed Harry, who in turn nodded. "Asuka and Shinji, due to the parameters of their mission, will be living with Captain Katsuragi. Rei has been given lease to live on her own. Normally, that option would viable for you, considering your status as a pilot, but considering you have little history with our organization, let alone our culture or country, the Commander has tasked Kaji with being your guardian." Humorous gray eyes met shrewd brown ones, and it took a while for Kaji to respond. He smiled, but it looked sharper than the easy one he wore earlier.

"I take it the committee as already given this idea their approval?"

"Of course, the Commander would dare not push beyond the boundaries he has been given."

"Of course."

"I do believe their words were, 'it would do him good to become personally acquainted with one of the pilots.' Do you have any objections?"

"None." Kaji's reply was curt. "I will have to alter my living arrangements…" The sub-Commander held up a hand.

"It has already been seen to. We value the comforts of our employees and pilots here at Nerv." Fuyutsuki seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly.

Harry was beginning to understand that a deep under-current ran between the two men. Kaji was a liaison between Nerv's funders it seemed, and only with their permission could his job be altered. Was him living with the man going to become a hindrance to him? But if the committee approved it, why was he sour about it?

The sub-Commander turned to Harry.

"Do you have any objections? I could relay them to the Commander if you wish?" His tone had turned mellow.

Recalling what Sr. Akagi had said about this mysterious Commander, Harry erred on the side of caution. "None, sir. Just happy to have a roof over my head."

"Good. I think that will be all."

The dismissal was obvious, so the two left in awkward silence.

An hour later found the pair driving down a road towards the residential side of town. A GPS tracker with the coordinates plugged-in showed them the way to their new home. While leaving the geofront, courtesy of their ID cards, the pair had talked the time away, seeming genuinely interested in hearing about Harry's life. Harry skipped over his time with his relatives, but let the man know there was no love lost there.

He described his boring studies at the boarding school, but abruptly stopped himself mid-sentence.

In his memories he had found studying fascinating and how it had helped him pass the time, but looking back he could not understand it. Even thinking about sitting down and going through the same extra studies now he knew would bore him to tears. The dissonance between the now and his memories had him disquieted, and it was not the first odd thing he had noticed of recent. He tucked it away and resumed the conversation with Kaji, turning it away from himself and onto the older man.

Kaji was of the generation that had lived through Second Impact and seen the world put itself back together. His parents had both perished, living him and his younger brother in an orphanage. Living there had been tough, and his younger brother had not made it to adulthood. While recanting the story, a shadow had passed over him, but it fled when he turned to his days at the University and how he had met Misato and Ritsuki.

"Dr. Akagi?" Harry asked, barely remembering her first name in their introduction.

"The very same. Her and Misato were real close then. So were Misato and I." He smiled big and Harry got the hint. "Strange how fate twists us all back together like this." His voice grew wistful, and his eyes looked beyond the present road and into a past one long since traveled. Kaji caught himself, peaking a quick glance to Harry. "Sorry 'bout that; those were good times back then."

Silence fell between them and Harry noted they were nearing their destination. Kaji broke the silence again.

"So what'd you think of Misato?"

Harry smiled. "She drives really fast."

Kaji broke out into a laugh. "Very true, she tried her hand at a few races while in college, worked on her own engines for a bit, too. I thought she would become a mechanic, but the JSSDF was recruiting and she answered their call." He paused before speaking again. "She's got a nice rack, too, doesn't she?" He grinned and glanced to Harry, waiting for his reaction.

"Er…" Harry was not quite sure how to answer that, so settled for honesty. "Yes." Kaji laughed again.

He leaned to the side and spoke in a conspiratal tone. "They look even better under the covers." He winked at Harry before returning his attention to the road. All Harry could do in response was smile big; he was really beginning to like Kaji.

The apartment was much bigger than Harry was used to, since he had shared bunks in the boarding school. The living room blended with the dining room, leaving a small but manageable kitchen tucked to the side. A short hallway led to two rooms plus a closet and bathroom. Piled against the wall in the living room were two piles of boxes. Harry looked them over as did Kaji. Harry turned to his guardian.

"You don't own much, do you?"

Kaji chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same thing." He rolled up his sleeves. "Whelp, we've got a quite a bit of work ahead of us, so we might as well get started."

Harry placed his duffel in what he claimed as his room; Kaji had no objections. From there they spent the afternoon deciding where their various belongings would go. Kaji set-up his book case in Harry's room, commenting how he had left the majority of his books in Germany.

"I don't mind if you filled it in with yours."

Harry scratched his head. "I really don't have that many…or any."

"Really? Well, we'll take care of that tomorrow, before you start school."

"School? I thought I was working for Nerv now?" Kaji sighed and gave Harry a sad smile.

"For normal employment, yes, but not for pilots. The stress you'll be put under will be tough enough for adults, let alone growing kids. To help stem off the psychological trauma, you'll be enrolled in school to give you some form of normalcy." Kaji shrugged. "The eggheads thought it would work, and so far tests on Asuka and Shinji have come back positive."

"What about Rei?"

Kaji frowned. "There have been no tests run on Rei?"

"That seems weird." Why have the tests run on some pilots and not all of them.

"Yes, Harry, it does."

From there they continued their work, slowly unpacking what limited belongings they had. Soon it became painfully clear just how much they would need to complete their new home, several vital kitchen utensils were missing. Among them forks, knives, and spoons.

"Anything we're missing I'll take care of tomorrow, like a table. I'll just send Nerv the bill."

"The sub-Commander will approve that?"

Kaji grinned. "He sure will. Remember what he said about valuing his employees and ensuring our comfort?" Harry laughed out loud.

In time they finished and Kaji ordered take-out, which was an experience for Harry who learned then that people in Japan ate with chopsticks. After little luck with them, he vowed to find decent kitchenware the following day. Their stomachs sated, Harry was beginning to feel the time change along with a very eventful day.

"Go on and get to bed, I'll let you sleep in tomorrow." His face turned serious. "Enjoy these days while you can Harry, things will get tense very soon."

Sobered by that thought, Harry slipped into his room and slid the door shut, frowning at the lack of locks. He then unrolled his palette, not sure if he would get used to sleeping on the floor. It was just another difference he would have to adjust to, and past experience told him he had adapted to a culture shock before; yet, he could not recall boarding school being equivalent to this. Shrugging it off, he closed his eyes and drifted into dreams that seemed hauntingly familiar yet completely strange.

* * *

**a/n::** The usual critiques apply. Any mistakes pointed out, because I have no beta and I can't proof-read for shit, will be appreciated and corrected. I'm going to be honest, though, the writing here may suffer from my usual, considering I am not spending as much time on editing it as I normally do.(I'm good with reworking scenes and sentences, but always miss the small errors.) This will be something I do on the side, so no weekly updates will be forthcoming. I'm still hoping to concentrate on at least updating with something once a month. (Something of substance that is.) Also, this will not be a re-telling of NGE, just with Harry inserted. Oh no, the divergence will be coming soon. I've also put in more sub-plots than I usually deal with. The thing with Harry's memories, the new production line Akagi hinted at(there will be more to that), Harry and Kaji... With this fic I'm going to be balancing all those plus more while keeping the main plot the focus. Should be good practice.

Side Note: Yes, I pulled a cheap move in getting Unit 03 there faster than normal, I'm hating myself for it honestly, but I couldn't come up with a better way so hung my head and rolled with it.

Hope everyone enjoyed.

-byl, out.


	3. Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted

**A/N::** Been awhile. Enjoy.

* * *

**Harry Potter: Fourth Child.**

**Chapter Two: Becoming Acquainted.**

They had furniture, due to the sub-Commander's generous nature. Along with some smaller odds and ends, among them some books for his shelf, trinkets and pictures for his walls. Of the pictures, he had an odd moment this morning when he noticed the figures within were not moving; it took him a second longer, and to shake the slumber from his mind, before he realized they had never been moving in the first place. The moment passed and he let the confusion of it pass as well, he was not ready to face those questions so early.

His collection of books was meager, but some of the titles seemed interesting. A few detective novels on Kaji's recommendation along with _The Lord of the Rings_; his conversation with the strange Dr. Akagi had piqued his interest in them.

Harry glanced up from his breakfast, noting the red numbers in the digital clock. Ten minutes before he should leave. Not realizing how much time had passed he finished off his meal and tossed the fork and dishes into the sink, letting them soak there for the day. Either he or Kaji would get to them, depending whose day ended first.

Hastily, he stole to his room, packing a thin computer notebook into a shoulder bag. On it were his textbooks and lessons needed for school, along with a handy Japanese-to-English translator Kaji had helped him install; in case he ran into trouble with the written word. His spoken Japanese was flawless, even down to the accent, much to Harry's surprise. Their days out shopping and interacting with the focused populace of Tokyo-3 had shown that.

Harry slipped into the bathroom to check his reflection; white oxford over brown slacks, the leftover uniform from his old life. Kaji suggested he buy a pair of black pants, but Harry had been adamant.

"I'm an Eva pilot now, right?"

"Well…yes."

"Then the wrong color pair of pants shouldn't be asking too much, right? I mean, you already got those boots…"

"Fine, fine, you win this round, kid. Just don't be late."

The conversation had transpired the night before. Harry had been testing just how far he could push the man. It was nothing really against him, just himself trying to assert some control over his life after the heavy-handed way he had been treated. He had felt a little guilty for the rebellious act, but this morning he was glad to be garbed in something familiar.

He checked the hands on his watch and made for the door. Kaji had told him how long the walk would take, and until he got into the routine, he would rely on the older man's estimation. As Harry slipped on the pair of hiking boots his guardian had gifted him, he questioned how Kaji had been able to figure out the distance. It was a trivial wondering of his mind, not something he would despair over.

Harry opened the door and stopped in his tracks, green eyes going wide in confusion. Rei Ayanami stood before his threshold, hand raised to knock on the door.

"Uh…good morning?" He managed. "What are you doing here?"

Rei lowered her hand, her usual expressionless face regarding him. "I am here to escort you to school."

_Escort? _"What, Nerv thinks I need to be baby-sat?"

"That information is classified."

Harry tried not to roll his eyes. "Let me guess, alpha clearance?"

She nodded and turned to leave, expecting him to follow. Having little else to do, he locked the door behind and was soon walking abreast her, the silence between them slowly eating at him.

_This would be a lot nicer if she were doing this on her own_. "You're still following orders, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I have been ordered to guide you through Tokyo-3 and the Evangelion project to better help you cope. I have also been ordered to be your friend." She glanced to him, two ruby colored eyes betraying little emotion.

"Great," he muttered. "Were you given any other commands regarding me?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Alpha clearance?"

She nodded.

Harry could only shake his head as they continued their trek to the school. Every few paces they would pass a monument and Rei would tell him if it were an access point for their Evangelions. One nondescript building housed a secondary power plug if his unit switched over to battery power. Another housed additional munitions and was called locker-612. Harry was simply amazed at how much the city seemed to cater to the needs of the Evas.

"Is this whole city designed around the Evas?" he asked after she pointed out a munitions locker.

"Yes, every facet of the city has been designed for both convenience for the Evangelions and defense of the geofront."

Harry let his eyes follow the tall skyline, seeing the mirrored windows and imagining something else behind them. Something beyond just the aesthetic value normal cities used when constructing buildings. Every small detail was planned and coordinated with a grander scheme in mind. The very scope of the project became clear when he realized suddenly the city was a designed like a fortress, built from the ground up with that single thought in mind. _Wow_.

They continued on in silence, the scope of Nerv settling into him. Fuyutsuki had mentioned something about Nerv, that if an Angel pierced their defenses it would trigger another Impact. Could it be that Nerv was protecting something the Angel's desired, or needed?

Further exposition was cut-off when Rei darted into a nearby park. Harry hastened after her, calling her name in futility. Much like at the train station the day before, she took a straight line to wherever her destination was. Through underbrush and across concrete sidewalks she ran, varying only slightly when a bush was too dense for her to cut through. Harry was panting, but barely managing to keep pace.

Then she was around a tree and came to a stop, her breathing louder than normal. Harry came up catching his own. "Wha—what were you chasing?"

She ignored him and peered around, slowly scanning the entire area that was no more different than the others they had run through.

"Well? It's not exactly nice to run-off like that and then to ignore me." Harry drew a deep breath, calming himself. "In fact, it's pretty rude."

Rei gave him a strange look, half-confused and half-curious. "I…am sorry." A frown played across her face. "I thought I saw danger." She gave another scan of the area, before settling her gaze onto the ground. There she bent over and picked-up and small shining jewel, the light of the sun refracting in it beautifully. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. As Rei slowly turned it over he swore her eyes flashed once and the jewel responded. Then it suddenly shattered into a hundred points of light, each harmlessly playing across their skin.

"Was that the thing what you saw?" Harry asked running his hand over the bared skin of his arms. He felt no residual effect from the strange crystal.

"No, it was why I didn't see them."

"Who?" Harry clenched his hands. "What's going-on, Rei? Was someone spying on us?"

"Yes."

"Well…?"

"That's—"

"Classified." Harry clenched his jaw and spun around.

"I'm going to school. I'll see you there." He had enough of the abstinent girl. _Ordered to be my friend—of all the dumbest things._ What could have been an easy transition into this obviously dangerous world was made awkward and difficult by his co-worker's demeanor. Could they have used no other pilot to help him?

It was then he noticed Rei had rejoined him. He increased his pace, hoping she would get the hint. He had little luck with that. He was sorely tempted to try and run, but seeing her abilities a moment ago put a lid on that plan.

"I can walk myself to school." He spoke tersely.

"I am to escort you."

"I don't care!" Harry did not miss the slight narrowing of her eyes. That small gesture of anger made him check his own. "You're not making this easy." Rei's brow crinkled, but she chose not to respond. Harry tried a different route. "Dr. Akagi said that you aren't very sociable. Is that true?"

"Is it not necessary for me to fulfill my task."

"O…kay." Harry gave up and just accepted the fact that this thin albino girl would most likely be his shadow for the next few days, hopefully until he was situated.  
Finally, their long walk to the school neared its end as he could the building at the end of the street, surrounded by the long shadows cast from the sun on this early morning. _Finally._

They walked a few more paces and the dark shadows began to stir, to shimmer and warp. Harry's pace faltered as he tried to understand what was happening. The sunlight dimmed, turning to night and suddenly stars were twinkling in the sky. He glanced around confused. Skyscrapers and buildings blurred into tall foreboding trees, while the concrete morphed into grass and dirt. He whipped his head about, finding Rei replaced with someone else, possessed of brown hair and brown eyes. He did not know the girl. She was speaking to him, but he could not discern her words, only muffled sounds.

Then the shadows grew into haunting and damning figures with features cowled in hungry darkness. Hundreds of them with black, ravaged hands reaching out to him, their desire palpable in the crisp evening air.

He was suddenly a different person with a different purpose. He knew how to battle these horrible things, even though their name escaped him. He held something in his hand and he raised it high, but the object was ephemeral and he realized with dread what he needed was far off.

The things were drawing near and he saw the girl next to him wilt under their stares. His own legs were growing weak.

"It's not supposed to be like this!" he cried. "I know how to beat you!"

He brandished the translucent object, knowing the key was held within, waiting to be unleashed with just a few uttered words, but they escaped him. Memory did not serve him, leaving him to the mercy of the creatures bearing down on him.

Harry Potter fell to his knees and screamed.

* * *

Somewhere distant, in a room surrounded by metal walls of strange readouts, a slim wooden object glowed briefly for a moment.

* * *

Then suddenly everything was righted. The sun hung in the air and the shadows lay dormant on the concrete. There were no creatures seeking him, no mysterious girl with brown hair and eyes. Only Tokyo-3 and Rei Ayanami looking down upon him with bewilderment.

"You are okay?" she inquired.

Harry licked his lips and gained his feet, his knees shaking. For several heartbeats he stood there, trying to grasp what had just occurred. Had he really seen all that? _I had to, it seemed so real._ Yet, he found himself once more in a foreign city in the accompany of a fellow pilot. _What was that? A waking dream?_

"I'm fine," he said at last. "Just a panic attack."

Rei was silent, red eyes scrutinizing him. "You don't need medical attention?"

"No, I'm fine, just my nerves is all." Harry looked to the school. "Let's just keep going," He walked forward, not caring if she followed or not.

They approached the school to see the courtyard bereft of students. Were they late? He was tempted to ask Rei, but he just wanted to sit down and forget about the strange morning he was having. He let Rei lead the way through the sterile hallways and enter a classroom labeled A-1. Within he found rows of similarly dressed and seated students, the only difference being their style of hair. As they entered together they drew every eye of the room, he noticed a few jaws slackened.

A girl with brown pigtails stood. It took her a moment to find her voice as she addressed them. "You're both late."

Rei ignored the comment, so Harry answered for them both. "We had a little trouble in the park." He stopped himself from saying more when he remembered some information he knew might be classified. Several snickers echoed in the quiet room and Harry realized how the statement could be taken the wrong way. "Not like that!" he hastily amended. This only served to further amuse them. The girl who had first addressed them sighed, muttering something under her breath and giving her classmates an exasperated look.

Thankfully, the teacher saved Harry from further embarrassment. He was an older man with balding white hair and stooped stature. "You're the new student?" Harry nodded as the chuckling died. The teacher gestured towards the desks. "Have a seat, we were discussing Second Impact." With that he turned back to the board that was littered with small scrawl.

Harry looked for a seat and chose one a few rows from the window towards the back. He avoided locking gazes with anyone, the embarrassment still fresh in his mind. He was glad he kept a blush from his cheeks. Taking a seat he put his bag down and removed his laptop. Glancing up showed Rei hovering between his seat and one by the window. If Harry was right she looked torn, giving him and the empty chair equal weighted glances.

Resolve settled over her shoulders and she took an empty seat next to Harry's own. More stares greeted this unremarkable action, only broken by the girl with the brown pigtails annoyed tone. "Pay attention, the teacher is speaking!" Some still lingered but eventually they diverted their attention back to the front of the class.

Harry longed to ask his companion what all the strange glances were for but knew he would not get a satisfying answer. He decided it had something to do with his fellow pilot's strange behavior.

After his uncomfortable introduction to the class he was glad to have the teacher's lessons distract him. The morning waned by, history bleeding into arithmetic. Half-way through math lesson he was glad for Kaji's translation technology, for his skills at reading Japanese were not up to par with his speaking abilities. Through quick typing and organizing his screen he was able to follow the teacher.

Towards the end a chat message popped onto his screen.

_Do you work for Nerv? _It read.

Could he answer it? Was his status a secret? Before he could contemplate any further ramifications another text message appeared.

_Don't answer that!_ Harry was taken aback. He glanced about and saw the same brown-haired from earlier glaring. It took him a moment to realize she was glaring at someone behind him. Following her gaze found a slight boy with a pair of large glasses covering his eyes. He was sulking but no more messages appeared on Harry's screen for the rest of the day.

It was after that exchange he noticed Rei staring away from the rest of the class, looking out the window at the world beyond the mundane trappings of the school. If he did not know better, it seemed she actually appeared bored, with her head resting her hand, head titled to the side. He just put it down to more of her strange behavior and continued with the day's lesson.

By lunchtime, he was growing tired of her ever present presence, thus he made a quick excuse of wanting to eat alone. For a moment it seemed she would eat with him regardless, but she only turned away, leaving him finally in peace.

Lunch was a simple affair for him, sandwiches on wheat with sliced deli meat. He longed for a good meat pie, but finding this in Tokyo-3 had been hard enough. Early into the meal his moment of respite was interrupted.

"So you're the new pilot, eh?" Harry looked up from his position in the shade of a tree to find a tall boy dressed in a dark jumpsuit. He had tanned skin and dark hair and was accompanied by the slight boy with the large glasses he had seen earlier.

Harry swallowed his food. "I don't think I'm allowed to discuss it."

"Pfft! Whatever, man. It's no secret Rei, Shinji, and Asuka are pilots. _Everybody_ already knows."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Heck yeah, we've," he gestured to his friend, "have even been inside one!"

"Really?" Harry asked dubiously.

The tall looked riled. "Yeah, we even watched Shinji kill an Angel."

The smaller of the two chimed-in. "He's telling the truth. It was an accident, but it is the truth." A smile grew on his face. "They even made us sign a bunch of forms telling us everything we saw was classified." There was an eagerness to his voice as he spoke.

"In that case, I'm the Fourth Child."

"Thought so. We would have found out earlier, but Hikari caught me." Harry assumed the smaller teen meant the pigtailed girl from earlier.

The tall jock absently rubbed his arm. "You know how she can be, and the last time someone asked Shinji it did disrupt the class." His friend chuckled and Touji glared at him. "What's so funny?"

A secret smile was the small teen's only response.

Heading off what looked to be an argument, albeit a probably good natured one, Harry introduced himself. "Harry Potter." He stood and offered a hand in greeting.

The two took a moment to react. "Touji Suzahara and this is Kenske Aida. Mind if we join you?"

Harry resumed his seat, patted the earth, and moved over a bit, glad for some normal company. "I'd be happy to have you."

The two sat and proceeded to gorge themselves like normal teens, gasping for breath between massive bites. When all were finished and full, Touji opened the conversation. "So what's up with you and Rei?" Harry looked heavenward. "That bad?"

He nodded. "It's been a nightmare with her. Every time we talk is like trying to…" he shook his head. "I'm not sure what it's like, but it's frustrating!"

"You don't say?" Touji laughed.

"Has she always been like that? Hard to talk to?"

Kenske answered. "Yep, since she first came to school. Of all the pilots, she's the worst. Granted, Asuka's not much better. She's more a bitch than anything else, though." Harry looked askance at the description for her.

"Hey, you don't know her, yet." Touji said laying back on the ground. "You'll understand in time. We did. I don't know how the Shin-man puts up with her honestly."

Kenske shrugged, choosing to lean against the tree. "Me neither. He seems the most normal of you pilots, but sometimes I wonder."

"Think he likes her?" Touji asked idly.

"The way those two have gotten at it the past few days? I wouldn't be surprised."

Silence fell for a moment before it was broken by Touji's deep voice. "Oh hey, we got any of that money left? I wanna buy my sis a gift for this weekend."

"Yeah some."

"What do you mean 'some?'" Touji propped himself onto his elbows.

Sensing yet another disagreement Harry inserted himself into their discussion. "Money?"

Touji waved his hand. "Yeah, we took a couple shots of Asuke and sold them. Half the school lined up for'em."

"You sold nude photos of a girl?" Harry asked, his hand clenching.

Touji went stiff and sat up. "What? Who said they were nude?"

Kenske coughed and spoke. "No, they weren't nudes, just pictures of her doing normal stuff. You know, walking, eating, smiling. Nothing else."

"There were a few of her from gym class." Touji pointed out. "And that time we snuck into the pool to see her swim."

Harry's expression darkened. _Nudes or not, it's not right to sell someone's picture like that._ The demography of the customers left little imagination as to what the photos were going to be used for.

Kenske noted Harry's expression. "Hey, don't get mad at us. We only harnessed what nature had blessed her with and offered it at a reasonable price."

"You exploited her for your gain. That's low." Harry shook his head.

"Oh please, like you wouldn't jump at the chance if we offered you a discount." Touji said disgusted. "You're no better than us."

Harry's nostrils flared and he spoke in a low voice. "I wouldn't buy _anything_ like that from you; especially from someone who's risking their life fighting Angels so you two can still live."

Kenske cringed and looked away, stray fingers nervously fiddling with his shirt. Touji looked taken aback, rubbing his hand through over his neck. Harry did not care how uncomfortable they felt, they deserved it!

"Yeah, so…there was something else we wanted to ask you." Touji began.

"What?" Was Harry's curt reply.

"We haven't seen our friend all day. We were wondering if you know what he's been up to." Both of the teens looked to him, hopeful.

Harry avoided their glances, choosing to look away and shrug. "It's classified."

Kenske opened his mouth, but shut it, choosing instead to stare at the blades of grass before him.

"Classified?" Touji cried, indignant. "We know it's got somethin' to do with an Angel! We just want to know if he's okay."

Harry turned to face him, speaking slowly. "It's classified."

Touji took a breath and drew himself-up, shoulders tense. "I don't—"

"Pilot Potter." Came a quiet voice, interrupting the taller boy. Three pairs of eyes looked to see Rei standing over them, cast in the sun's rays.

"Yes, Rei?" Harry was relieved to see his other pilot, strange as that was.

Rei went to respond, but Touji quickly spoke over her. "Where's Shinji at? Is he okay?"

Harry scowled. "I told them it was classified, but they seem to think their trip in an Evangelion entitles them."

"We never said that!" Kenske cried, rising to his feet. He addressed Rei. "We just want to know if our friend is alright." His taller fellow nodded, regarding Harry with narrowed eyes.

There was long pause before Rei answered, turning two red eyes from one teen to the other. "It is classified." _Was there a slight hesitation before she spoke?_ Regardless, Harry smiled, relieved. These two did not deserve to know anything for how they had treated a pilot.

Touji sat in shock, his mouth agape, while his companion appeared betrayed, a hurt expression crossing his features.

"Was there something you needed, Rei?"

"Yes, we have received orders for after school." She gave Touji and Kenske a blank look, but they understood. In silence they collected their things and marched off, Touji giving the pair a dark look. Harry ignored them as Rei spoke. "The Captain has ordered us to join her at her apartment this afternoon."

"No problem. We'll walk there together, I assume?"

She nodded before turning and walking from whence she came, Harry noting how diminutive her steps were.

He recalled the awkward silence with her through the morning, and her renitence at conversation in general. Mirroring that was his defense of Asuka. _These are my fellow pilots, people I'll be risking my life with fighting the Angels._ Harry quickly gathered his things, stowing them into his pack, and rushed to catch the pilot.

"Rei, wait!" She paused as he came abreast of her, head tilted to the side. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes crinkled in confusion. "For what?"

"I lied earlier about eating alone." He swept his foot over a mound of grass, eyes watching the motion as he spoke. "I just didn't want to eat with you." He drew a breath and met her gaze. "We're supposed to be fighting together and all I can think of is how hard it is to talk to you. You don't make it easy."

Two ruby eyes looked to the left, staring at something over Harry's shoulder. "I'm…only following orders."

Then Harry saw it, an uncertainty about her, an emotion barely conveyed in the hesitation he knew he heard. She may have been following orders, but the task was not an easy one for her. Harry relaxed. "You're not used to," he searched for an appropriate word, "interacting with others are you?"

The hesitation was more pronounced as she opened her mouth, but it took a moment for words to be forthcoming. "No." The response was soft, barely louder than a breath.

_I'm not making things any easier for her. _The revelation was not surprising, but it made him see he could choose a different route with interacting with this pilot. She seemed at ease with all things work related, but anything beyond that she showed either indifference, apparent by her boredom during class, or uneasiness, seen through her sparse interactions with others. Harry wondered if she even cared for others beyond those already close to her. Was anyone even close to her?

"You want to spend the rest of lunch together?"

"There is not much time left."

Harry shrugged and started walking forward. "It would make following your orders easier, right?" He turned back and gave her a pleasant smile.

Walking forward she joined him, and together they approached the school, Harry asking questions about Eva, questions he knew she would be comfortable answering. As they talked he wondered why someone as socially inept as she seemed would be ordered to become his friend.

Lunch soon ended and the rest of the school day went forward with more work on Harry's part as he tried to wrestle with the language. Several times he fell behind, cursing his own limited abilities, but he persevered. At times he felt like quitting, recalling days of thoughtlessly casting aside assignments and lounging during some lectures. Yet, he also recalled diligent work and long hours of studying at his boarding school. The dichotomy added to the hectic day, but he chose to be studious, accepting the language barrier as a challenge.

At last the final school bell rang, he leaned back in his chair, lounging, glad to have survived the day, yet mentally fatigued as well. The students filed out, chatting, and the two from lunch gave Harry weighted looks before exiting.

Harry turned to Rei. "We have to go the Captain's apartment now?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Pilot Soryu and Shinji are there training."

_Shinji? _It appeared there was someone she was close to. Near an hour, later and one trip across town, found the two of them knocking on the Captain's door.

"Oh, I'm glad you two could make it! C'mon in!" She gestured the two within. As Harry removed his shoes he could hear strange beeping sounds coming from the main living area of the apartment. Following Katsuragi revealed two teens his own age dressed in strange uniforms; black body suits complemented with blue and pink draped over their upper torsos. They were adorned with headphones, and each was trying to step upon a pad with various colored spots lighting up in sync, though the pilots' motions were far from tandem.

The girl had a nice figure, athletic with toned muscles. Red hair was swept back by two red clips atop her head, with several strands darkened by sweat sticking to her forehead. Crystal blue eyes barely noticed his interest as she concentrated, occasionally giving the small framed boy next to her irritated looks.

The boy in question was smaller than Harry with gangly limbs. Short dark hair glistened with sweat as awkward motions tried to keep pace with the shifting lights. Two dark blues eyes glanced to him before quickly looking away towards his partner, then quickly glancing away from her.

As Harry and company made their way to a table set in front of the two practicing pilots, he noticed each time they failed to be in synch, a buzzer would announce their mistake. Harry took a seat and heard the red-haired girl growl, throwing a murderous glance to her partner. At that moment, Harry could see why Touji would call her a bitch; he would hate to have that look directed at him.

Misato opted not to sit, instead marching to a control panel off to the side. Both pilots watched as she killed the power, glad for the respite as they wiped the sweat from their brows. "Break time." Misato called as she addressed the two pilots. "Grab a seat and get a drink, it's time you met the new addition to the team."

Approaching the table as one, introductions were given. Shinji was polite with a simple, "Nice to meet you." Asuka gave him a measuring look before making a grand introduction. "I'm Asuka Langley-Soryu, Second Child and pilot of Evangelion Unit 2."

Harry imagined he was supposed to be impressed, but the costume and sweat took away from whatever effect she had been hoping for. "Nice to meet you."

Asuka took a seat beside him, while Shinji sat opposite her, both opting to down bottles of water. Misato was ready for additional drinks and a couple of towels, both were gratefully accepted and used.

"You didn't catch me at my best," Asuka began. "You should see me in my Eva." There was pride in how she held herself, head held high and small smile in place. Shinji sighed and Misato rolled her eyes. Rei was currently staring at the wall.

Harry could only shrug. "I saw your battle with the Angel." Her head fell and her eyes narrowed. Harry instantly regretted the words. "There were—"

"There was a certain idiot teamed with me getting in the way." She gave Shinji a significant glance.

To which in responded, "At least I was more concerned about defeating the Angels than showing off like a rookie."

"Rookie? I've been training with Eva my whole life! What've you done besides hide from Daddy?"

Harry saw Shinji tense. Beside the foreign youth Rei watched the exchange. But before the pilot of Unit 01 could respond, Misato slammed the flat of her palm against the wooden table, shaking Harry's glass of juice.

"Hey, knock it off you two! This is the exact reason why you're doing this little song-and-dance." Neither looked repentant, but grudgingly stilled their tongues. Misato sighed. "That's not much better, but I guess it's an improvement. In order to beat this Angel you two have _got _to learn to work together, only with a simultaneous strike on the creature's core can it be destroyed."

Toward the end of Misato's speech, Asuka had been silently repeating her rote for rote. "Yeah, yeah, we know, we know."

Misato bristled. "If you know then why don't you do anything about it?"

"Because he's so clumsy! Dancing with him is like dancing with a tree."

Shinji looked to the table, his mouth a thin line. "I'm not that bad."

Asuka sniffed, but held her peace. For a moment there was silence before Asuka turned to Harry. "So how long till you get your Eva?"

"Dr. Akagi said it would be sent here in a month. Not in time to help with the current Angel."

"No, this one is mine." Misato cleared her throat, giving the young girl a significant look. "And Shinji's."

"I see." _How was I supposed to even respond to that? _Harry wondered, not enjoying the conversation skills of these pilots any better than Rei.

"Where do you live?" Shinji asked.

Asuka quickly spoke. "Probably alone, lucky devil. I would be to if not for the stu—" Asuka cut herself off after giving Misato a quick glance. "Circumstances being what they are." She gave her guardian a tight smile.

Annoyed, Harry responded. "Actually, I don't live on my own. Kaji's my guardian." Shinji looked interested in the news, while Misato and Asuka looked shocked. "Sub-Commander Fuyutski thought it best if I had someone to help me become adjusted to Japanese culture." Speaking of which, he wondered if he would ever become accustomed to sitting on the floor. The table they were at was a foot off the ground and all had their legs either crossed or tucked under it. _Why would they not use chairs in the living room, when they use them at the dinner table?_

"Kaji actually agreed to watch you?" Misato snorted. "Doesn't really sound like him." There was little love for the man in her voice.

"Well, I don't think he actually had a choice."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The sub-Commander seemed to have forced him to do it, with the approval of whoever Kaji reports to."

"The UN." Misato supplied. "He's the direct liaison between them and Nerv. More a watchdog than anything else, which is exactly all he'll ever be."

It seemed Kaji held a fonder view of the Captain than she did him. In his exchange with Misato he had not noticed Asuka scooting a little closer to him. He could smell the sweat from her skin. "So what's it like living with Kaji? He was _always_ so nice to me in Germany." It seemed honey dripped from her tone.

Harry leaned away to give himself some breathing space. "He's nice enough and helpful. We went and got a lot of books for me yesterday. I used to read a lot in my old school." As the words left his mouth, he felt the lie of them, even though his memories said otherwise.

"What school did you go to? Was it private?"

"Hogwarts, and it was private." Everyone, save Rei, gave him strange looks.

"Hogwarts?" Misato asked, smiling.

"What the hell kind of name is Hogwarts?" Asuka declared, her tone no longer inviting.

_Did I just say Hogwarts? _An image came to him; one of a beautiful castle reflecting in the still surface of a lake darkened by night. The moon hallowed old towers, while the stars twinkled in the background. Harry felt a rush of dizziness when the image was replaced with one from his memories; of a stale brick building resplendent in ivy and fake marble columns. Concrete steps led to the entrance and tall windows lined the frame of the building.

"Sorry, I meant Essex Memorial School for Boys." Harry studied the table, daring to look up. What greeted him were shrugs and uncaring eyes, save for Rei, who was regarding him with what he thought was an inquiring stare. _Was she recalling my breakdown earlier?_

"So it was an all boys school then, huh? I can relate." Asuka continued, her tone once more friendly. "I went to one when I was little, but I didn't like it much. So, I had Papa send me to a co-ed school, instead. That was before my college courses, of course."

Harry's lips quirked into a smile. "So you attended an all boys school?"

"What? Huh?" Realization dawned and she crossed her arms. "You know what I meant."

Misato laughed while Harry and Shinji shared a grin, much to Asuka's chagrin. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up." The young girl pointedly ignored them, instead directing her attention to a bottle of water.

"Okay, I think you've all had enough of a break, time to get back to work. And remember, you are trying to work _together_." Asuka and Shinji both moaned, grudgingly gaining their feet and replacing the headsets. The music resumed and Harry watched as the two exchanged awkward glances while trying to mimic each other's dance. Their rest seemed to have done them some good.

"Is it true Asuka has taken college courses?" Harry leaned closer to Misato.

"What, didn't believe her?" Misato grinned.

"Well…it seemed she—"

"Liked to boast?" Misato finished for him.

"Er…yeah."

His Captain laughed, drawing Rei's attention. "Yes, she's taken college courses. She even has a degree in Physics. A Bachelor's to be exact, though she'd want you to believe otherwise."

Harry looked bewildered. "Then why is she going to school still?"

Misato's expression turned somber. "The same reason you're going to school and not working at Nerv solely. Because the mental strain of fighting the Angels is too great. You kids _need_ a routine and school seemed the logical idea."

"Kaji said pretty much the same thing."

"Smartest thing he's said all week."

From there the conversation lulled, Misato intent on the two pilots attempting to dance in sync where as Rei was once more studying the wall. Harry chose to bring out his laptop and get started on the day's homework, unsure how long he was expected to remain. Half-way through his literature project Misato suddenly rose and turned off the music, drawing his and Rei's attention.

Holding her head in one hand, she spoke. "This isn't working. And don't argue Asuka! I'm not in the mood." The sweating red head shut her mouth, her protest dying before it was given. "We've got fourteen days to get this right, and I don't think this stupid machine is going to work."

"Then what are we going to do?" Shinji ask, wiping his brow, pointedly ignoring the glare his co-polite was giving him.

It was then the doorbell rang, and from the way her face lit-up it seemed inspiration had struck. "From this moment on, you guys are doing everything in synch. Eating, sleeping, walking. _Everything._

"What!" Came two indignant cries.

"Starting with answering the door." Misato smirked and jerked her thumb to towards the apartment's entrance. "Get going and see who it is."

The two walked off, grudging looks greeted with nothing but a smile from their leader. As they answered the door Harry heard muffled voices, two sounding very familiar. _Oh, great._ As five people entered the room, two pointed accusing fingers his way.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Touji shouted, rounding on Harry.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Visiting, and I would like to say that the information concerning your friend is no longer classified. They're both fine." Harry gestured to Asuka and Shinji, the latter seemed confused, but the former had a half-smile on her face, as if sensing what Harry was doing.

Misato giggled. "Behave Harry. C'mon guys and have a seat."

It was then Harry noticed the pigtailed girl behind Shinji's friends. She supplied her name and sat next to Harry, giving the two other boys a suspicious look. By his recollection, she was the Student Representative he had met earlier that day. "Have they been giving you a hard time?" she asked.

Harry looked to them, noticing they were talking with their friend. "Yeah, they kept bugging me about where Shinji and Asuka were. I told them it was classified."

Hikari shot the students in question a stern look. "I'll deal with them later."

Asuka made her way over. "Hikari!"

"Asuka!"

They had a brief embrace, before Asuka fell to rapidly complaining about Shinji. "God, he's so awkward. Like a tree." She stuck her tongue out. "I've been doing the sequence perfectly, but he can't get it right. Ugh. That Angel would have been mine if Shinji had just followed my lead…"

Hikari brought a hand to her mouth, hiding a smile while Asuka continued. Harry glanced away, watching Shinji talking with his friends while Misato laughed at something Kenske had said; the young boy looked ecstatic at having amused the attractive woman. He then glanced to Rei and found her own eyes upon him. They shared a look, him surprised and her passive. She then glanced away, resuming her vigil upon the wall.

"Alright, that's it!" Misato clapped her hands together and ushered both pilots to resume their stations. Asuka gave her a dirty look but acquiesced. Smirking, Misato resumed her seat, throwing a calculated look to the assembled students.

Minutes passed and still they could not synchronize, but Misato barked at them, adding the pressure. Harry was not sure, but he thought he heard Asuka growl. Then the young pilot threw a fit, throwing her headset on the ground. "This is so stupid! He can't even get it right!"

Misato only smiled. "So you're giving up?"

"Well you don't have anyone else..." Asuka flipped some hair over her shoulder.

"Rei?"

"Yes, ma'am," was her soft reply.

"Why don't you give it a shot."

"Yes, ma'am." She stood and took Asuka's place on the pad.

Harry was surprised at the transformation that overcame Shinji. He visibly relaxed and even looked contented. The music started and the two began to dance, easily stepping into the same rhythm, each lost to the world with nothing but the beat and the other's presence.

Everyone watched until they heard a huff from Asuka, proceeded by her storming from the apartment. Hikari stood and admonished Shinji, forcing him to pursue the wayward pilot. From there the scene seemed to fall apart, Touji and Kenske defending their friend, though both were soon cringing at Hikari's reprisal. Rei was lost to the commotion, standing next to the machine, her eyes upon her hands.

"I'll just go put these in the sink." Misato said in a cheery voice, collecting everyone's cups. It was then that Harry discreetly collected his items and made for the door. He looked back at Rei, knowing she would probably want to walk him back to his apartment, but he would rather walk alone right now. He had much to think on, in particular the other two pilots he would be risking his life with. He needed to learn more and made a mental note to query his guardian.

His arrival home was met with absence and silence, only a quick jotted note the only information from Kaji. _I'll be out for the evening, there's some money on the table for take-out if you're not in the mood for cooking._

Harry took the bank notes and pocketed them, then set to work on his dinner and tomorrow's lunch. With careful motions he readied a decent meal, every now and then casting a look to the note taped to the refrigerator.

Dinner devoured and dishes from the mess and this morning cleaned, he tore the note down and balled it up, tossing it into the trash. The rest of the evening was spent jumping between reading and finishing his homework. With the chores done he went to bed, debating staying up late to continue his book, but in the end he killed the light and slept alone in the empty apartment.

* * *

The next day was spent much like his first, eating breakfast by himself and attending school. Touji and Kenske paid him little mind, save the taller would sometimes give him dirty looks. Hikari was polite, but she was only being friendly. Rei accompanied him to school that morning, without mentioning his sudden departure from the day before. Harry felt no need to apologize. Lunch was spent in relative quiet, save she informed him he had to report to Nerv the next day early in the afternoon. The school would forgive his absence, but he would have to make-up the work.

The afternoon, following school, was spent doing his homework at Misato's, watching Asuka and Shinji struggle to work in tandem. Misato and him talked a little, but he was not in much mood for chatting, a fact he suspected she eventually caught onto. When he asked to leave, he saw Rei readying her own supplies. She walked him home, still without commenting on his behavior the day before.

Talking to her was easier now that he had some understanding of her, but still their conversations were a far cry from what was normal.

That night was the same as before, another empty apartment with money left on the table and another note trashed. This time Harry took him up on the offer and ordered take-out. Wishing to be adventurous he tried a local place and was not too disappointed. He chose to stay up late reading, seeing if Kaji would even come home. When midnight produced no guardian, he doffed the light with a sigh and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Above was a high ceiling of metal, mirroring the design of the walls comprising Nerv. Thick cables was traced along the where the two met, disappearing into the metal. They lead to four tanks situated in the center of the room, spaced four feet apart and held suspended above a vat of purple liquid. He had access to the tanks via a catwalk, which he was presently leaning over vomiting into the liquid below.

Orange liquid, mingled with the day's food, poured from his mouth and lungs into the still purple below. Harry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, once more conscious of the form fitting suit clinging to every curve of his body. Something surged in his stomach and he once more retched over the edge, more bile than orange LCL in this round. Coughing hurt and stung his throat.

A plastic cup was placed in front of him, courtesy of a slim hand with carefully trimmed nails. He accepted it. "Thank-you."

"Do you sometimes feel nauseous?"

He shook his head while drinking the water.

"Have you ever vomited after an emotionally intense event?"

Again he shook his head, wishing the water would wipe the taste of bile from his mouth.

"Have you ever felt the need to vomit after masturbation?"

_What?_ "I'm sorry?" Harry managed, turning to look Dr. Akagi in the eye. Again he was struck how cold those eyes could be upon him. He suppressed a shudder and refused to look away, meeting blue eyes with green.

"Have you ever felt the need to vomit after masturbation?" She repeated the question in a toneless voice.

"No. I've never felt the need to vomit after jacking-off." He did not bother keeping the sarcasm from his voice. She frowned, then reached for his head, but he leaned away. She tsked and closed the distance, fiddling with the A1 clips atop his unruly black hair. She brought out a small device from her lab coat pocket and studied it a moment. "So throwing up after doing these test isn't good?"

She gave him a brief glance before returning to her examination. "No, it's not. If you had been synched with your Eva it would explain the nausea more, considering the stress of piloting for the first time can do to a pilot. It seems your body is not reacting well to the LCL." She pressed a key then addressed him. "We're done with the first round of the harmonics tests—"

"How'd I do?"

She gave him an irritated look. "You did poorly compared to the others pilots. Coming in at thirteen point seven, not enough to sync with Eva. Now climb back in."

"What? I thought I was done?"

"Only the first round, but I need to run further tests on your submerging with LCL. It could be the reason for your low harmonics score."

"Great." Harry turned back to the tank, still bitter from the way they had introduced him to the strange orange liquid. He recalled her initial words to his shocked protests. "Don't worry, you'll be able to breathe it."

Ten minutes later had him once more retching over the side of railing, his stomach heaving painfully when nothing else would come out. Dr. Akagi once more greeted him, sans cup of water.

"Your harmonics fell." She did not sound pleased. Harry really did not care how she felt, he felt miserable. "According to the tests of your initial examination, you should be getting at least twenty-one in this test. You aren't."

Harry rested his head on the railing, wishing nothing more than for this test to be over with. Glancing down, he took in the black suit he wore, trimmed in bright green along the arms, legs, and chest. He was glad it did not accentuate his lower regions, he did not know how he would react to that.

"Climb in again."

Harry looked to her to protest, but it died in his throat when he saw her abruptly turn around and walk back to the control booth. Several unpleasant names for her went through his mind, but he kept them to himself.

Once more in the tank, filled again with the abhorrent liquid, her voice broke over the comm. "We're not leaving this room until you manage an eighteen percent, so I suggest you soldier-on and concentrate. If you cannot manage this simple test, then you have no hope of piloting Eva."

Harry grit his teeth and took a calming breath. He would do this. If only to spite her. He calmed his nerves through some effort, ignoring her inane comments, which he thought were designed to help him. He phased her out and concentrated only on the vibrations shifting through the liquid, trying to reach out through the A1 clips on his head. The world seemed to fall away, but he could feel the nausea in his gut, trying to worm its way up.

"You were doing well, but…" Her words were only an irritation, something to be cast aside like an old sock.

His world was only the vibrations and his mind. Regulating his breathing calmed the nausea a little, but it was something he would have to get used to. He had agreed to this, innocents depended on him. It was a burden he would carry. Time lost meaning and eventually his sick stomach settled.

"Very good, Harry. Just…" More irrelevant words. More time passed. "Okay, we're done here. Drain the LCL."

Harry breathed in relief as the LCL drained from the tank. Instead of heaving the strange liquid from his mouth, it simply poured out of his lungs, joining the rest for disposal.

Upon walking across the catwalk, Dr. Akagi was waiting for him, a proud smile on her face. "You managed it, Harry, I knew you could if you…" Her voice trailed as he stalked past her, in no mood for whatever fake emotion she wanted to show him. He found Rei awaiting him in the hallway dressed in school uniform, passive eyes taking in his wet hair and wet suit. She fell in step with him as he walked to the showers, eager to be rid of the LCL and plugsuit.

"How can you stand it?" he asked after a time.

"Stand it?"

"The LCL and the tests."

A long moment passed and they reached the entrance to the male side. They paused. "It's all I've ever known."

Harry's mouth dropped, quite unsure how to respond except with, "I'm sorry." _She's not sad. No regret, nothing._ It was just a part of her life. Rei turned and sat upon a bench across from the entrance, an obvious sign she would wait for him. With nothing left to say he entered to wash away the LCL and change back into his normal clothes.

* * *

The sun was hovering near the horizon, casting long shadows from the trees lining the right side of the path; to the left was nothing but overgrown fields. Some miles back his car was parked in an abandoned home, left there for his return. A chill wind blew through the branches and swayed the man's ponytail. He paused, ears keen for the sound of a car. He was confident he had lost the Section-2 agents sent to watch him, but with his activities it was never wrong to be overly cautious. Satisfied none were coming, he continued down the dirt track.

Ahead was Kaji's destination, an old shack that was once used as a waystation for the park rangers, back when the government cared for such things. Hopefully, his contact would be waiting for him there. He was not disappointed.

"Hello, beautiful." He spoke to a squat woman of middle age with shoulder length brown hair. Between thin lips rested a burning cigarette. "They'll kill you, ya know."

She exhaled and removed it from her mouth, pinning it between two thick fingers. "They'll kill you, too, if they find you."

He smiled. "I was referring to your habit."

She blinked and looked down at her hands, then shrugged. "They'll kill me, too."

"What news do you have for me? Found anything about the Marduk Institute, yet?" He took up a position leaning against the wall across from her, shoulders relaxed and stance at ease. It was never good to show someone you did not trust how tense you were.

She removed from her purse a manila folder; nothing was safer from high-tech scanners than ink and paper. He took it, extracted the papers, and began skimming them. He nodded his head every now and then, it was as he expected. The Marduk Institute was owned directly by Gendo Ikari along with Keel Lorenz. "Interesting. The question I pose to you now, is who controls it?"

"Ikari at the moment. He chooses the pilots."

"And Lorenz?"

"Has yet to object."

"I see." He paused, reading through more of the paper, looking for any hint about Rei. Nothing, which was to be expected, finding any information on her was near impossible. "Any leads tracking down sick girls with albinism on the international level? Born around Second Impact?" He doubted there would be any, but it was a shot worth taking.

"None. All leads have been confirmed. Another dead-end."

He nodded, wondering if she were even aware of the pilot's origins. She worked directly with the JSSDF, the military harm of the Japanese government, but he knew for himself she reported to Seele. Who in turn were his bosses. They used him to spy on Nerv, while using her to spy on him. He in turn used her to acquire information his bosses already knew for his own purposes, and to show them he was actively trying to uncover Nerv's secrets for them. It was all part of the game.

"Well, if there's nothing further…"

"There is." She reached into her purse once more, and Kaji readied to reach for his gun. He was not fool enough to realize they could end his life at any moment; the main reason she insisted on meeting in such a quiet place. She removed another folder and handed it him. Harry Potter was marked on the front.

He took it, curiosity driving him. What about the Fourth Child had Seele wondering? Had Nerv managed to pull something with one of the pilots? He removed the papers and began to read, swiftly hitting the high points of each paper. What he read shocked him.

"This is real? No cloak-and-dagger smoke screen thrown at me?"

"We pulled the records straight from his former school. The one he didn't attend. Word from up top says they want you digging into his background, find out where he really came from."

According to the papers, a young man named Charles Holland disappeared from Essex Memorial School sometime over the summer. He vaguely matched Harry's description of unruly black hair and glasses. Teachers noted he was a diligent student, but he rarely drew attention to himself. He lived on the outskirts of London with his grandmother. Kaji held little doubt he was dead.

"These are the originals?"

She nodded and took another hit from her cigarette. "They were found among the school's hard copy records, but were deleted from their database. Replaced with Harry Potter's."

Rubbing his chin, Kaji considered his ward carefully, trying to recall if he had acted strange at all. He had appeared to him a typical teen, with very little subterfuge about him. "So Harry didn't attend Essex, but he's obviously from England. Or is that in doubt as well?"

She shook her head. "He arrived in Tokyo-3 with his relatives during the first Angel attack. They left for Great Britain and he didn't. But the tale gets stranger. They have no knowledge of him, ever. We searched and found two references in their taxes at claiming two dependents around the turn of the millennium."

"Someone covered his tracks but got sloppy." He read more about this Charles Holland. He seemed to fit Harry's personality somewhat, but from what he had observed, his ward was not as much a wallflower as the file would suggest. "So somebody wants us to think Harry's just your typical teenager picked to save the world." He smiled. "The question is why?"

She nodded and finished her cigarette, flicking it out a broken window. "Exactly. And that's what the higher-ups want you to find out."

_So that's why Seele agreed for me to be his guardian, they wanted me to keep an eye on him._ "I'll see what I can come-up with. Does it take priority?"

"No. Finding out what Nerv is hiding takes priority."

"I shall prevail." He gave her a nod and walked from the building, his feet once more set upon the dirt path. He pondered for a moment letting Gendo in on this meeting, but thought otherwise. The man humored him when it came to Rei, since Seele was already aware of her special status, but Harry Potter was another matter entirely. He had a feeling Gendo had wanted whatever was about him kept from the superiors.

Once the building was finally out of sight he relaxed some and let his mind wonder to the puzzle that was his life. To the quagmire that he had set foot in when coming to Tokyo-3.

The first was his intricate status of agent and double-agent, depending on who he was speaking with. Seele thought him their tool to be used against Nerv, but he trusted Ikari more than them. Gendo knew him to be Seele's spy, but he also used Kaji for his own reasons. One of which was smuggling the Adam sample out from under Seele's noses. In return, Gendo gave him information on Seele, while he plumbed Nerv for his own answers.

He personally believed that his spying amused Ikari more than anything. The Commander of Nerv always was the kind of man that thought he held all the cards no matter the situation. However, in this case, Kaji had a sinking suspicion Ikari did hold all the cards. That he had somehow taken control of Seele's plans and was steering the world to his own end. An end Kaji feared, and one reason that drove him.

The second confusing part, and one he struggled with, was Misato. How odd that fate had lead them back together now of all times, when it seemed that the end of the world was only one battle away. Was it a sign? Did he want it to be a sign? He sighed. This was no longer college where their futures had a chance of being one. He had his goal of finding the truth and she hers of ending the Angels. Them becoming involved would more than likely compromise his position, despite how much he wanted otherwise.

He sighed and cast a look to the sun drowning on the horizon, her last rays' feeble attempts filtering through the trees.

How he wished it could be otherwise.

* * *

The first week was over. Grueling tests at Nerv followed by long days at school, with only the occasional glimpse of his guardian. His only companionship throughout was the cold-eyes Dr. Akagi and the distant Rei. Neither were adept at conversation, though he did understand Rei better. He had only occasional talks with the other two pilots, but at the moment both were too involved with their training to focus on much else. Misato was friendly with him, but she was spending her time split between seeing her wards synchronized and creating a plan of attack the Evas could use once the Angel regenerated in nine days.

His own Eva was still three weeks out from delivery, the final battery of tests were being conducted. There were several bugs to be worked out in the programming, according to Dr. Akagi's lab assistant, Maya. She was sweet woman compared to her boss, but she seemed meek. At least, the times he had seen her interact with the Doctor.

Currently, he was walking after school, having been given the afternoon off from Nerv thanks to his improved scores. "You'll be ready for your Eva when it gets here. We'll put you through some simulators next week, then have you start studying the lay-out of the Tokyo-3." Had been Dr. Akagi's words.

The sun was shining in the west, still some time before sunset. Around him were only a few people, he had walked this way to avoid of the bustling crowds of the city. He was not quite ready to return to an empty apartment with yet another note. He was not sure what was worse, to be unfairly punished by his relatives, or neglected by his guardian. So much for helping him learn the culture.

The last thought was a bitter one, for there had been numerous times at school he had embarrassed himself. From using a fork and spoon at lunch, to calling some by the wrong honorific. He was learning though, and Hikari had been a massive help whenever he had any questions. She was the only source of normal interaction he had had this past week, but she had been polite only. Or maybe that was just how she was with everyone?

He shrugged.

He glanced back and saw Rei shadowing him some meters back.

He recalled their initial conversation before his trek.

"Look, I just want to go for a walk, you don't have to come along. Really, I'll be fine."

"I have my orders."

"Okay, then hang back, because I'm sure your orders didn't include walking beside me."

With that he had set-off, and thankfully she had chosen to follow at a distance. He was frankly tired of her presence day-in and day-out. He had tried ditching her as he had after seeing Shinji and Asuka, but she proved determined. _How long was she supposed to follow him?_

Time passed and his thoughts wondered, from his old school to his old haunts back in Surrey. He pointedly tried not to think about the disparity of his memories, doing so always left him feeling bereft and lost. Better to stay grounded in what he knew was true, at least what he hoped was. Soon he found himself in a construction zone, the telling noises drifting in from the site to his left. He paused and looked up at the frame work of a soon-to-be skyscraper.

Above saw a team of men hoisting a massive steal I-beam off the ground. They called to one another to make sure it was secured, some holding radios and talking to a team at the top. One man yelled for them to stop, while he peered up at the lines holding the beam in place. Then their voices became distorted, as if echoing down a tunnel, drifting farther and farther away until all he could hear was the roar of a beast.

He was no longer outside, no longer worried about Eva or being a pilot. He had come down here for a single purpose of saving his friend's sister. Her likeness and name escaped him, but what he faced, with two golden eyes pecked out, was known. A basilisk, the king of serpents whose gaze could kill. In his hand, he gripped a golden hilt inlaid with giant rubies, whose sharp edge was the only thing standing before him and the serpent.

A voice, silky and slippery spoke in a familiar tongue. "Kill him!"

The giant snake reared its head, fangs glinting in the subdued light. It struck, quick as lightning, its giant maw of a mouth covering him, its sharp teeth puncturing his skin. He cried out in pain and went to one knee, thrusting the sword forward, hoping…

The world twisted and turned, and the frightened calls of men once more filled his ears. Eva returned and the basilisk was nothing more than a memory taunting him. _I'm going crazy_! Was his only thought as he found himself laying on the ground, holding his head in his hands. Sweat soaked his body, and his shoulder ached, presumably where he had fallen to the ground. He tried to hold on to the vision, the different sense of self he had possessed, but it slipped through his fingers like water.

He felt like crying for what was lost and found tears crowding his eyes.

Then he looked up to find Rei staring at him, eyes crinkled. Was she concerned?

"I'm fine," he croaked out. "Just another panic attack. I don't need to see a doctor."

Rei opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly her attention darted to the right. He followed her gaze and saw a bolt of blue light flying through the air. Her red eyes flashed and the light struck a hexagonal field, making it skitter across the strange barrier. Rei jerked her head behind her as the barrier disappeared, only to block yet another blue bolt. Two more struck from nowhere, only to be blocked as well.

Rei risked glancing to Harry. "Stay down." Her tone was soft but her intent was evident; protecting him.

Then a barrage came from across the street, from where the original had been sent. A dozen blue bolts seemingly appearing from thin air.

Harry did not know how to react, only that Rei was somehow blocking those lights. _Is it an Angel attacking?_

There were more frightened calls coming from Harry's left, opposite the side of Rei's manifestation. He looked that way and opened his eyes wide, for the construction workers was screaming and yelling, some even running away, for their heavy I-beam was now spinning out of control. One of the hoists had snapped, leaving the beam connected only to one. It took Harry a second later to realize it was coming for them.

"Re—" He was never allowed to finish her name as it came spiraling down, the ends a blur of motion. He watched in horror as one of those ends struck Rei in the side. His fellow pilot was sent instantly flying with the sound of shattered bones as her wake. Harry saw her body skitter across the asphalt, turning end over end like a doll, before coming to a stop, motionless.

The beam of metal kept going, uncaring for the damage it had wrought, passing over Harry, leaving before a gust of air, before continuing on its path to be buried into the concrete, breaking apart whole junks of the road.

Harry's hands were shaking as he got to his feet, but his knees almost gave out. "Please Merlin, let her be okay," he muttered as he made his way to her side, his vision swimming. "Rei!" He shouted coming to her.

He dropped to his knees and shook the body, which responded limply. "Rei! Can you hear me?" He turned her over and saw two red eyes vacant of thought, and a mouth slackened and reddened by blood. His eyes roved over her pale body, taking in the horrible way her midsection was twisted, how he could see bone sticking from her arm, how her chest seemed to have been caved in.

"No…" Harry whipped his head around, screaming. "Somebody help! Anybody!"

Several men in black suits, guns drawn, were rushing over, while the men at the construction site looked on in horror. Four men surrounded Harry and the body, one held a phone to his ear, talking rapidly. Harry heard him mention an ambulance and the Commander. One agent pulled Harry from the corpse, Harry struggled against him a second, before he realized these men were here to help. He let him get dragged away, casting a final glance as one of the men began testing the girl's vital signs.

Harry already knew the answer. Rei Ayanami was dead, killed while trying to protect the both of them from some strange attack. Killed protecting him.

He was lead to a side-walk where they sat him down. "Don't talk to anybody. Just sit and we'll take care of this." Was the man's only words to Harry, and he was glad for them. Talking was the farthest thing from his mind, and now, coming down from the events and accepting what had just happened left him disquieted and feeling hollow. Numb to everything around him save those two unseeing red eyes.

Harry waited under the watchful eye of the man in black, hoping that someone could make sense out of what just happened.

* * *

The room was cast in darkness, the only light coming from a wide window set behind the man hunched over a polished oak desk. His hair was a short brown and orange-tinted glasses covered two blue eyes. White gloves hid his hands, while an impassive expression hid his thoughts. Etched onto the floor before him was an intricate design of the Tree of Sephiroth. Fitting for what his designs were for the human race, and himself.

Upon the desk were several items, where usually it was devoid of decoration and utility. A portable computer lay opened with several videos playing at once. One depicted a hospital room where his ward Rei lay with IV's connected to her arm. Across from her sat Shinji, seated into a bare metal chair with his hands in his head.

_Disappointing._ Gendo watched the video for a moment and saw the pilot raise his head and speak. Rei gave a single word response before again choosing to study the wall before her. Shinji abruptly stood and went to her side, his hands reached for hers, taking one into his grip and seeming to plead with her.

She only looked to him in confusion, eyes widened and head cocked to the side. For a long moment they stared at one another, before Shinji released her hand and walked out of the room, head hung low, arms limp by his sides.

_Pathetic._ Rei watched him leave then gently touched the hand he had held, rubbing it for a moment before looking down and examining the white sheets covering her body. Gendo went to look away, but noticed further movement.

Rei systematically felt her body, starting with the abdomen, then leaning forward and rubbing her legs, pausing every so oft to squeeze the large muscle groups. Sitting up, she repeated the process with her chest and back, taking additional time with her spine. Ending it she felt along her neck then let her hands trail down her face.

_She's remembering the pain. Interesting. _ Apparently finished, she adjusted the bed so she could lie down and study the ceiling.

Done watching he switched his vision to the video next to it, currently paused, depicting Harry sitting at a desk with a pen and paper before him. Across, leaning against the metal table, was an agent of Section-2, garbed in their usual cold black. Close to Harry was Kaji, for once not going through the motions of being the boy's guardian.

"Play." The video came to life and their voices filled the room.

"Start from the beginning and write down anything pertinent to the situation. Any small detail should go into it."

Harry nodded absently, while Kaji reached over and squeezed his shoulder. Harry seemed to shy away from the touch and Kaji seemed to get the hint, removing his hand and giving the pilot some distance. "Forward." The video sped-up, showing solely Harry writing quickly, then pushing the papers to the agent who read through them. "Resume." It went to normal speed, picking up where the agent was speaking.

"Why were you on the ground?"

"I felt dizzy and fell down. I was looking at the steel beam the workers were raising. I sort of just got overwhelmed by the size of the building. Vertigo?" He sounded nervous. Was he lying?

The agent wrote something in the margins of the paper before asking, "Did you notice when the beam became unstable?"

"No, I was too shocked at what was happening." He paused and gave the agent a severe look. "What _was_ going-on? Was it Angel related?" He sounded tense. The interview had occurred the day after the incident, and it looked like Harry Potter had not slept much. The video itself was not a live-feed, but a recording. It had been a week since Rei had been 'killed.'

The agent did not bother returning the glare. "That information is classified."

"It bloody well shouldn't be!" Harry got to his feet, shoulders tense, hands upon the table. "Whatever that was targeted me and Rei, and I think I deserve to know what was trying to kill me!"

"Harry," Kaji went to his side, voice stern. "Calm down."

"Who are you to say that? You weren't there, I don't even know _where_ you've been." Harry shrugged off Kaji's attempt to ease him back into the chair. Kaji became more insistent, but a beep sounded in the room. That was when Gendo had personally intervened. The agent touched his ear then nodded twice. He addressed Harry. "What happened is classified, but you were not the target. Pilot Ayanami was."

Harry's face went slack and his shoulders slumped. Without argument, he allowed his guardian to reseat him. "It's not because she was a pilot, was it?" He looked up, two green eyes piercing the man. "It's because she could make that field, isn't it?"

"That's classified. And as of this moment, everything you saw Pilot Ayanami do is classified as well. You may only discuss it with those of Alpha Level clearance."

"So I can't tell the other pilots…" He sighed. "It doesn't matter now anyway, does it?"

Gendo nodded, recalling at the time the young man still believed Rei to be dead. It appears the incident had stressed him, and that was the reason he was reviewing it; he had to see if the strain would work against the memories planted within him. So far, there was little evidence to suggest that theory, which matched Ritsuko's results from the examination.

The man touched his ear again, and spoke in a low voice. He nodded once. "Pilot Rei is still in intensive care and looks to be recovering. The damage was not as severe as first thought."

Kaji and Harry both looked shocked. "What? How? I saw her die!"

"At Nerv we have the top medical facilities available geared solely to the health of the Pilots." He reached for a form at the corner of the table and presented it to the other two. "Sign these waivers citing both of you will not discuss what has transpired."

Kaji signed it immediately, while Harry echoed the gesture, pausing only for an instant.

"Can I see her?" Harry asked, eyes again glaring, but there lay suspicion in them now.

"No."

"Why not?" His tone was insistent.

The man glanced to Kaji and motioned his head to the door. "This meeting is over."

Kaji grabbed Harry, but he shook him off, standing on his own and stalking from the room, his guardian a few steps behind him.

Gendo had observed enough and closed the file. There would be no helping the suspicions raised among the pilots by Rei's miraculous recovery. In the end, it would not matter because none had the means of discovering the truth. Kaji himself had so far had little luck in the area, though this would only fuel his need to know even more. Harry would still pilot, but it was his guardian that Gendo would have to watch more carefully.

He was already aware of the secret meetings, but they did not worry him. Seele thought they had their dog well trained and well aimed, but they did not know that Kaji's true allegiance was foremost to himself. So long as Gendo provided snippets of information to Kaji, he could be used as a means of misinformation. So far, Kaji had agreed to leave out a few bits of information in his financial reports.

Gendo's attention went next to the reports laying open on his desk. The price of silence from the steel workers had not been too steep, but coercing them to relocate to another part of the globe had not been easy. As the attack itself and who perpetrated it? That was the hardest question to answer, for he had assumed none in the wizarding world were aware of Rei's special ability to block magic.

The only link between her and that lay with two incidences. The first was when the first magician refused to rewrite Harry's memories; he had been killed. The second was the next wizard used; he had been successful. He may have deduced why her presence was there, and that was why the Nerv agents among the Japanese wizarding society were actively looking for him. Thus far, he had eluded pursuit.

Gendo thought he had an understanding with the hidden wizards. He would not disclose their existence to a paranoid world, he had threatened to link them with the cause of Second Impact, and they would leave him and his organization alone. Added they would aid him in his manufacturing endeavors, though that had been more Seele's influence than his own. It had not surprised him in the least they had been aware of the existence of the wizards, nor did it surprise him they had considerable influence over them.

The simple truth was that Seele controlled most of the world's governments through the UN. Thus their ability to broker near limitless resources for Nerv.

It had not been difficult to find willing moles among the wizards, it seemed their society mirrored his own, stratified by those with money and those without. Aid the ones without and they would become informants. Give those who had money something else, at times influence through Seele or desires, and he had infiltrated their ranks. All men wished something, it was only finding what they wanted.

And so far those contacts had supplied some valuable information. There was a faction among the wizards who opposing involvement with muggles. Among that faction was a sect who vehemently opposed working for Nerv. Through some means this sect had become aware of his acquiring several of their populace for Dr. Akagi's curiosity. It stood to reason they were the ones responsible for the attack upon Rei, an act which sealed their doom.

He had yet to apply pressure to the Japanese wizarding government to oust these terrorists, he wanted to gather more information first. Wanted to consider a way to further fragment them, for the one thing that could disrupt his operations was a united wizarding world set against him. It was a problem he would need to consider further.

He leaned back in his chair and placed his hands gently in his lap. He had wished to finish his work abroad, but the attack on Rei had required him to fly back that night. He was not pleased to learn of Misato's initial failure with the Angel, but he trusted her plan. Despite her personal foibles, there was a reason she had been picked for the position. Her passion at defeating the Angels drove her to think of creative strategies to defeat them. And that was exactly what the Ops Director of Nerv needed to fight such varied foes.

Yet, he may not need her. May not need anybody. If he himself could wield the power of an Eva, he could stand atop the world and recreate it in his and his wife's image. He could bypass all the political maneuvering, could crush the Angels with his own fists. All he need do is open the cabinet, remove the suitcase, and let them become one.

Become one with destiny…

Become one with a God…

Become God…

Gendo removed his hand from the cabinet latch and used it to adjust his glasses. He drew in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, once more regaining control of his thoughts. He gave the cabinet a shrewd look, respecting the insidious way the sample worked on him, striving to merge with him. It was an annoyance for now, but if the voice grew any stronger he would remove the sample from here and find another place for it.

A throat cleared, drawing the Commander's attention to who stood in front of his desk. Fuyutsuki. "Ikari?" his voice held a trace of wariness.

_How long had he stood there? Had the embryo enthralled him for that long? It could not have been more than a minute._ "Yes?"

Fuyutsuki frowned, but knew better than to ask after his health, knew he would not receive a satisfactory answer. "Have you reviewed the report of the wizards? Have you chosen a course yet?"

"You worry no reprisal will embolden them?"

"They eliminated Rei for a reason. I think they may have a plan set in motion."

Gendo leaned forward. "I agree, but for now we won't interfere directly. We will use their own government to hunt them."

Fuyutsuki leaned his head to the side, considering the problem. "I agree for now, but if they prove ineffective, we may have to take steps ourselves. We can't have them making strikes like this against us."

"Agreed."

"What of recruiting some of them for Section-2?"

Gendo remained silent a moment. "It is a risk, and they would have to be chosen with care. We do not know if any would be interested." He leaned back in the chair, eyes regarding the older man. "Look into it."

Before the discussion went further, movement from Rei's camera caught his attention. He saw Harry Potter enter the room and approach the bed. _He would need to remind Rei of her orders regarding the young wizard._ _She was the only one with the ability to contain him if he became prone to remembering his past._

He turned back to Fuyutsuki and continued their discussion on what to do regarding the wizards of Japan, the events of the camera ignored.

* * *

The walls were sterile and white, dimmed by the fluorescent lights lit from above. He walked under them, wondering if the lack of any shadows had been considered in the design of the medical ward. He noted there was a general lack of warmth among the sparse decorations, something muggle hospitals seemed to have in abundance. Maybe regular hospitals cared more for their patients than Nerv did.

He stopped at a crossroads, noting the hallway numbers. Rei was in 3-A, so he made his way down the hall, hoping she would be conscious. He had been in several times the past week, he had made the trip after school, but each time she had been under. The hallway opened up to a lounge with the windows on the right giving a beautiful view of the geofront, it's artificial light shining through, illuminating a thin figure in front of it.

It was Shinji, and he had his arm against the window with his head bowed on it. Harry was not sure if he was looking at the reflective tile floor or the picturesque view before him. Was he even noticing anything?

Harry approached him cautiously, then noting Asuka's presence against the far wall. She was leaning forward typing into her cell-phone, oblivious to his arrival.

"Hey," Harry spoke softly, his voice carrying in the open space. Asuka gave him a curious look before returning to her activity.

It took a time for Shinji to respond, and his tone was low. "You're here to see her, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Is she awake?" Shinji nodded. Harry supposed he was not in a talking mood. "Thanks, I guess."

Harry walked away but was stayed by Shinji's voice. "She's not the same."

The black-haired teen paused and turned. "I'm sorry?"

Shinji glanced to the floor, his right hand suddenly closing. "She's not the same, they've done something to her. She…she's different."

There was a snort from the wall. "Oh please, she's still the same emotionless doll she's always been."

Shinji whirled to face her, hand tightening into a fist. "She's changed!" There was a challenge in his voice. Asuka rolled her eyes but stayed her tongue. It seemed the two had already had this fight before.

"Actually, she does have emotions, I just don't think she's good at expressing them." Harry provided.

"Oh, really? I never would have guessed." She rolled her eyes again and decided it would be better to direct her attention on the phone.

Shinji gave her a glare before returning his eyes to the window.

Harry turned from them both, uncertain what awaited him in that room. He was made ambivalent by Shinji's words, but he was confused by Asuka's assertion. Then again, Rei was closer to Shinji. He shook his head, not sure what to think about the pale pilot, considering what she had done against those strange lights.

He entered the room, taking in the stale walls of white and the matching bed sheets, where Rei's skin nearly blended in. There was an IV attached to her left arm and a few bandages were bound around neck and shoulders. She turned to look at him, two red eyes scrunching in confusion.

He went to her side, a question leaving his lips. "How are you?"

She blinked, her face becoming a familiar passive slate. Another blink. "You are Pilot Potter?"

Harry startled, his head leaning to the left. "Yeah, Harry."

"I see." She lowered her head and examined the bed sheets. "I…I had been given orders about you?" She nodded then turned to him. "I'm sorry, please leave."

Harry stared for a long moment, but clenched his fist. So far none had given him an explanation of what had happened, and he was tired of getting yanked around by Nerv. "No," Two green eyes speared her, "not until I get some answers."

Her mouth slackened, but she closed it and returned his glare with a small one of her own. It was then that Harry understood what Shinji meant about her changing. Her demeanor was different; assertive and not as socially-awkward. She remained silent, but Harry was undeterred. "What happened? What was that field you made? Was it an AT-Field?" He had recognized it from watching the videos Misato had supplied him for his training. He found it baffling how any human could produce them.

Rei's eyes faltered, falling to the bedsheets for a moment before returning his gaze. "I don't remember."

The tension in Harry's shoulders eased. "What do you mean? You were there. Or—" A sudden image of her body upon the concrete, a broken doll, unmoving. _Brain damage?_ He looked over her pale body, what parts were shown. There was hardly any scars. _Something else?_ "What do you remember?"

"I remember dying." She closed her eyes and looked to the sheets, eye contact finally broken. "I don't know why I'm still alive. I don't know what I'm alive for."

Harry let out a breath, bringing a hand to his hair and rubbing it. He did not know what she was talking about, but her voice worried him. She almost sounded despondent, lost. _Whatever she's been through it couldn't have been easy, and here I am demanding answers she doesn't have. Unless she was lying?_ He sighed. _He didn't think she was, but out here in Japan he wasn't sure who to trust._

Harry walked away from the bed and began to pace, eyes darting across the tiles reflecting the subdued light from above. He did not know what to do. The attack had showed something deeper was going on than just fighting Angels. He abruptly stopped and turned to Rei, surprised to find her gaze upon him. Was the answer behind those red eyes?

"What _do_ you remember?" he asked approaching her bedside.

She gave him a strange glance, eyes slightly narrowed. Harry adjusted his glasses, patient, he knew she had asked him to leave, but he wanted answers. Guilt gnawed at his gut, but he pushed it aside. He had been pushed around far too much as of late.

"I don't remember," she whispered.

Harry lowered his head and took a deep breath. "You don't remember the lights, the field, or the steel beam? You don't remember protecting me? Nothing?"

"I protected you?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but they say I wasn't the target. You were."

She remained silent, her apparent default response to most questions. What words of comfort could he provide about people trying to kill her. _It's just something you get used to._ Harry's mouth dropped open, wary of how that thought flitted across his mind. He walked away, the other inconsistencies rearing within his mind. He took a breath.

_I don't need this right now. I don't want to deal with this._ Like a torrent the inconsistencies bore down on him. The misnamed school. The forest he knew was there, but remembered was not. His memories of studying where he held no interest in it. The hundred cloaked figures bearing down on him and the strange girl. The giant snake and him standing resolute before it. _Not right now! Not right now! What's wrong with me?_

Harry suddenly felt the wall against his back, stopping his slow procession backwards. Breath haggard, hands and forehead sweaty, he tried to regain control of himself. Why did it feel like he had no idea who he was? Why were there conflicts in his own memories?

"I don't know." Came Rei's soft voice.

"What?" He must have spoken his last thought aloud.

She repeated herself. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

He sighed. "I don't know, either."

The moment stretched as the two locked gazes, and Harry was the first to look away, choosing to study the tiles on the floor.

_Does she remember my breaking down on the way to school?_ He doubted it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressed you. If you don't remember, you don't remember, but thank-you for saving me." Harry did not wait for a response before exiting the room.

Nothing in this place made sense, and he did not know who to trust. He was not even sure if he could trust himself.

* * *

The dance had begun. Two giant mechas, one the color of kings, the other the color or rage, danced in tandem while a divided being sought their deaths. There was weapons' fire and melee combat as the two Eva's tried their desperate gambit at destroying the Angel in a single simultaneous strike.

From within the bowels of Nerv, Harry Potter watched the two Eva pilots working being nothing but impressed at their level of skill. Ten days of constantly doing everything together had brought their motions in sync, a far cry from when he had first met them, when they could barely seem to get along. Behind him was Rei, almost completely unharmed despite the damage.

Misato's loud voice spoke into a panel, her finger pressing the comm. "Shinji, you're faltering, step it up. Asuka, don't take the lead or you'll break pattern."

"Yes, ma'am!" Came two quick acknowledgements, though Harry could see no difference in the two Eva's motions. It seemed Misato had a sharper eye than he.

It had only been a few seconds since the Angel had been sited near Tokyo-3, and only a few more since both Evangelions had managed to divide the Angel. At the moment they were seeking cover behind obstacles and offering distracting fire. Even though this part of the sequence did not have them mirroring each other exactly, they still managed to keep in step with the other.

Behind him on a raised platform, watching, were the Commander and sub-Commander, though both had remained silent from the start. Off to the side, tucked out of anyone's way, was Harry's guardian Kaji, who over the past three days had managed to come home at least once. He had attempted to strike a conversation with Harry, but he had received nothing but silence. It was obvious the man found Harry a burden, and the teen would not deal with the man's false overtures.

Monitoring several, screens which Harry thought showed the physiology of the pilots, stood Dr. Akagi with cold blue eyes, a pen hanging from her red painted lips. Arrayed to the left of her and in front of the Captain were the bridge crew, though Harry had only learned Maya's name. The brown-haired lady had seemed nice, going so far as to offer him a wave and smile when he first appeared garbed in his plugsuit.

He was not sure why he and Rei were there dressed, considering he had yet to gain an Eva, but he assumed it had something to do with procedure.

On the vast screen showing the battle, the two Evas leaped high into the air, flipping and spinning amid the dancing sun's rays. Then like a hammer, their soles came down upon the reuniting Angel at just the right moment, catching the dual core right before it coalesced into a single orb. The trail of destruction the strike made carried both Evas and Angel up into a mountain. What followed was a bright flash of light from an explosion that momentarily outshone the sun.

Instantly there was a cheer from the assembled crew, from the three in front to the various techs and clerks working the peripheral systems. Misato gave a great whoop before spinning on her heal and addressing the Commander. "Target destroyed, sir! Permission to celebrate?"

Several eyes widened at the statement, and the cheering subsided, supplanted by fear.

Gendo only looked down through a pair of orange-tinted glasses. "Permission granted. Good work, Captain, you have redeemed yourself."

With that he turned to leave, leaving behind even more cheering. Until Fuyutsuki groaned, turning a dial on a panel before him. The sound of two arguing pilots filled the room, shifting the cheers to snickers and laughter. The sub-Commander brought a hand to his head, muttering, "They're embarrassing us again."

Misato wore a devilish grin, chest swollen with pride. "Bring the pilot's home crew, and everyone take your families out to eat tonight, we just bought humanity one more night to live." She paused. "That's an order people!"

There was another round of cheers before it subsided as people focused on the work that was still to be done. Harry glanced to see Misato marching over to Dr. Akagi, pointedly ignoring Kaji calling her name. The two women spoke in low tones before the doctor nodded, a bemused smile on her face. The two left in each other's company, Dr. Akagi waving to Kaji good-bye.

Harry's guardian stood daunted for a moment, before an easy grin claimed his lips. He approached his ward with a light gait. "We did it."

Harry gestured with his thumb to the big screen. "They did it."

Kaji shrugged. "A victory earned is a victory shared. One day it'll be you they'll be cheering, and whoever was or wasn't there will share your victory."

Harry shrugged, not to eager for this conversation with the man, more eager to remove himself from the base and the plugsuit. He still had some homework he needed to finish and some reading he wanted to get ahead in. He found that distracting himself with school work let him forget that something was inherently wrong with his mind.

"C'mon, Harry, it'll be good for you. Get you out of that apartment."

"I do get out. I come to Nerv for tests and to learn the building layout. I go to school and learn. I just don't feel like going out and celebrating."

"Your captain gave you an order."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't think she'll punish me for not following it."

"Okay, how about I invite Rei?" There was a twinkle in his brown eye. "Hey, Rei, would you like to come to dinner with us? Your captain ordered you to celebrate."

Rei was silent a moment. "I do not know."

Harry let out a tired sigh. "I said I wasn't in the mood."

Kaji gave him a wry grin. "We get to live another day, and you're not in the mood to have a good time?" He shook his head. "Oh, to be young again and depressed."

"Look!" Harry took a step forward, his face inches from his surprised guardian's face. "I'm not in the mood, alright?"

His voice had been louder than necessary, and several of the techs looked their way. Being under others' scrutiny was something Harry was accustomed to, even though his memories told him he had been a wallflower through his school years. _Not again! _

Fists balled together, he stalked away from Kaji and the wondering eyes of the crew. He did not have to look back to know Rei was following him like a lost puppy. For a few days she had ignored him, getting back to her life, until yesterday she had waited for him to go to school. When pressed, she said she had been reminded of her orders.

Into the changing rooms he went, hoping to soon be out of the base and away from his stupid guardian. The _only_ reason he had sought out Harry was because Misato had shot him down. The man had a duty, but he would rather chase after some dead relationship that had gone down in flames years ago. _You're something else, Kaji._

With that bitter thought, Harry changed his clothes and waited for Rei to join him in the walk home.

* * *

Kaji leaned against the railing, half-hearing the idle chatter of the Nerv personnel. Most were making plans to go to their favorite spots that evening, while others spoke of enjoying the night with their families, just happy to be alive again. _Those kids have no idea how much hope they give to people in this city._

Which once more brought his thoughts onto his ward; Harry Potter. The child was as stubborn as Kaji had seen, not even caving to the pressure of going out, though it would do him good. He was under a lot of stress and seeing the others pilots working may have added to it. He imagined the incident with Rei had not eased things for him. By rights the girl should be dead and buried, but there she was, hardly injured at all.

_ And the things she had been able to do! Incredible._ It only cemented in Kaji's mind that he would find out what was different about the girl; he was beginning to think she was not even human.

Kaji shook the stray thoughts aside like a dusty cobweb, instead turning his focus back to Harry and what to do about him. His more nefarious activities, taken up for noble reasons, had pulled him away from his apartment over the last few weeks, and it had created a chasm between him and his ward. He thought a few nights spent at home and maybe a few dinners out would repair the damage, but he was not so certain anymore.

_That had always worked with Asuka._

Asuka, though, had been infatuated with him, which had helped in keeping them acquainted. He had thought the same had worked with Harry, minus the infatuation, but it had not. His 'cool' factor must have fallen away, or Harry was under more strain than he imagined. He chuckled and shook his head. _Sad that I can rely on kids thinking of me as cool to get them to talk._ It had worked well in Germany to ask Asuka's friends and make sure the rigorous training regime and college courses had not been taking their toll on her.

Unbidden a snippet of conversation emerged from his memories, spurred by his thoughts on Harry.

"So why are you going?"

"I have to know what happened. All this destruction, it wasn't God's work. It couldn't have been."

"I don't think so either, but do you have to leave?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll come back in a few years and get you. I promise."

Kaji's held fell. _I thought I had dealt with that._ His fingers itched for cigarette, but he ignored the addiction. _He would have been near Harry's age, too._ He drew a breath and succumbed, reaching for a cigarette and lighting it.

"You know there's no smoking in here." Came a voice from one of the bridge crew. It took a second for Kaji to get his name. He had glasses and brown hair, and behind his eyes was a bright intelligence.

"I know, Shigeru." He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "That's why I was just leaving."

He turned and walked away. He tried to shake that distant and damning conversation, but to no avail._ I guess I should find a nice bar tonight. I might even run into Misato_. The thought was a pleasant one, but in his current mood it was a bitter one. Yet another reminder of what had been lost to time and the Angels.

* * *

**A/N::** Well, there is more of the fic. This chapter is more geared towards setting a few more things in motion, also to show the interactions of the pilots. I tried hard to keep everybody in character while interacting with Harry. Asuka's character was not as hard as I thought it would be, Shinji on the other hand stressed me, since I was always more focused on his timidity than his aggressive side.(Which Asuka seems to bring out in him.) Kaji was fun to write. I think he's a bit more OOC than the others, but I like him this way. I mentioned Unit 03 and all, but that didn't happen. Had to kill Rei first and have that attack go down. Next chapter will have Unit 03 and the first Angel Harry has to face.

As per usual, if there are any critiques people would like to level my way, don't hesitate and I'll do my best to address them. Thx for reading and enjoying.

-byl, out.


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